


A Saiyan at UA

by SuperKamiGuuru



Category: Dragon Ball, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23806825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperKamiGuuru/pseuds/SuperKamiGuuru
Summary: Gohan is on his way back from training in space when he is mysteriously transported to a new land, filled with strange and unusual people. Why are there superheroes and why is he there? With limited options home and a desire to protect, what's a Saiyan to do in a world full of heroes but become the top hero? Do not own MHA or DBZ
Comments: 12
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note (I hate long A/N’s, but this is necessary background set up that will be casually mentioned or implied later on):
> 
> I never really liked the portrayal of Gohan after the Cell Arc, a sentiment that is shared by many fans of Gohan in the DBZ fandom. The powerful, brilliant fighter who had risen to take his father’s place as the most powerful fighter in the galaxy. Potentially, a game changer from his fight-happy father to a protector who would do anything and everything to protect his people and loved ones. Then Toriyama nerfed the crap out of him and made him a little bitch to keep Goku in the spotlight.
> 
> This is Gohan as I see him. Piccolo forced him to train and to deal with his emotional issues through meditation, so he did not lose his power like in the canon, although his mother continued to insist that he keep up with his studies with Bulma acting as an occasional teacher. Because Vegeta was the only other significant sparring partner on the planet, Gohan grew somewhat closer to the prickly Prince, learning more about Saiyan society and culture while they both pushed the boundaries of their power, as well as picking up some of his personality traits. Not long after his sixteenth birthday, Gohan discovered a new well of power inside him, one that dwarfed even the vast Ascended Super Saiyan form, but the experimentation with that power almost shook apart the planet. For safety, Gohan borrowed a ship and left to master his new power somewhere less prone to destruction than the Earth. He was on his way home from that trip when a purple portal appeared in front of his pod…

##  ** **Chapter 1** **

**_**All Might POV** _ **

All Might and Izuku were working out on the abandoned beach. Well, Izuku was working out while All Might sat atop various objects which he told the teenager to move.

“ ** **Come, Young Midoriya! If you wish to control One For All, you must continue to train your body! Pull!**** ” The young teenager strained to pull the large refrigerator that All Might was sitting on, sliding it over the sand gradually faster.

The older hero contemplated the massive steps Izuku had made over the past nine and a half months. The young man had exceeded every single expectation, his spirit and desire to be a hero exuding from every pore of his scrawny body. All Might was confident that Midoriya would be ready to receive One For All when he finished his training in a couple of weeks.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed across the beach. Both All Might and Izuku whipped their heads around to locate the source of the sound. The older hero stood, squinting at a rapidly approaching round object shooting out of a purple flash of light.

“All Might, what is it?” Izuku looked up at his mentor, curious as to what the older man could see.

“ ** **I’m not sure, young Midoriya. It was moving exceptionally fast and appeared to be a sphere.**** ” The object jetted over the pair in the night sky as both tracked its position with their eyes. “ ** **Young Midoriya, continue your training! I shall go find the object and uncover what is going on!**** ” All Might struck a heroic pose, giving Izuku a thumbs up.

Izuku threw his mentor a salute and went back to dragging the trash off the beach. All Might turned away from his student to look into the distance after the flying object. A flex of his massive leg muscles launched him into the air, his sharp eyes still tracking the descending object. It was coming down somewhere close in the forested mountains of the Shizuoka Prefecture, relatively close to Mount Fuji.

Several miles outside of the city of Shizuoka, the object crashed into the ground, coming to a rest inside a hundred-yard diameter crater. The object was a large white sphere with a circular black panel on the front. White steam hissed out of a seam that ran around the sphere. All Might narrowed his eyes at the sphere, wondering what could be inside.

A hydraulic sound echoed across the barren landscape, followed by the front of the sphere opening forward. White steam erupted from the interior of the sphere, obscuring whatever was inside. All Might tensed, ready to confront whatever monster would leap from inside the sphere. The steam cleared, revealing a young man seated within the sphere.

The man had spiked black hair and a narrow, masculine face. He had a scarred, muscular torso under a torn martial arts top and tattered pants. A strange pink band covered the lower half of his torso and bound his arms behind his back. A smaller pink band covered his mouth.

All Might slid down into the crater, stopping just before the open sphere. He could recognize now that it was some sort of pod, almost like a spacecraft or escape pod. The figure inside the pod was obvious a humanoid male, likely human. All Might reckoned that the male was around Young Midoriya’s age, perhaps slightly older, yet he was built like a seasoned fighter with the scarring to match. One scar covered the boy’s left shoulder and upper part of his left pectoral, an ugly scar that spoke of massive trauma. 

All Might reached into the pod to check the pulse of the boy, his fingers just brushing against the boy’s skin when the boy lashed out with a front kick to the older man’s chest. All Might stumbled back, more surprised than injured, and his eyes snapped up to see the boy step out of the sphere. The pink band constricting his arms seemed to have no impact on his ability to balance himself on the edge of the pod, aided by a brown tail, similar to a monkey’s tail, which lashed angrily behind the boy. Now that he was standing, All Might could see that the boy was only around a foot shooter than the older hero, a rarity in Japan.

“ ** **Young man, do not fear for I am here!**** ” All Might gave his winning smile to the boy, hoping it would calm the situation down. Unfortunately, the boy hopped down from the ship and shifted his feet into a more aggressive stance. “ ** **Young man, I only want to help you!**** ” All Might gestured toward the bonds holding the young man.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the hero but reluctantly allowed him to come closer. All Might tentatively reached out and began to tug on the pink band covering the boy’s mouth. The hero frowned at the unexpectedly tough material. Another tug pulled the material away from the boy’s mouth, though it refused to come loose entirely. A hiss of pain came from the boy’s exposed mouth.

“ ** **One more tug should do it, young man. Hold still!**** ” All Might pulled the band away from the boy’s mouth until he could get a hold of the band with both hands. The Number One Hero yanked on the band, forced to exert his full strength on the substance before finally ripping it apart. The boy gave a shout of pain, revealing elongated canines, as the band disintegrated. “ ** **Are you alright?**** ”

“Who the hell are you?” All Might was taken aback by the vicious tone of voice and the harsh rasp of the boy’s voice.

“ ** **I am All Might! What is your name and how did you come to be here?**** ” The boy frowned at the name.

“My name is Gohan. Son Gohan. What sort of name is All Might?” All Might frowned. Not to be arrogant, but who hadn’t heard of the Number One Hero All Might?

“ ** **I’m the Number One Hero, son. All Might, the Symbol of Peace.**** ” 

Gohan blinked and furrowed his brow.

“Number One Hero? Symbol of Peace? What kind of titles are those? Are there multiple heroes running around or something?” 

It was All Might’s turn to furrow his brow. Superheroes had been around for several generations now so it didn’t make any sense for someone, especially a young person, to have not heard of the profession. The teen shifted uncomfortably, causing All Might to realize he hadn’t removed the larger pink band yet.

“ ** **Young Son, where are you from?**** ” As he asked, the large hero reached down and ripped off the large band. Like the smaller one, the band disintegrated as soon as it was broken.

“I’m from East District 439, near Mount Paozu. How close am I to West City?” All Might looked thoughtfully into the distance.

“ ** **I’ve never heard of that city before. Nor that mountain. What nation are they in?**** ” 

Gohan looked up curiously. “Nation? What is that, another name for a District?”

All Might blinked. “ ** **No, nations are political bodies ruled by governments. We are presently in the nation of Japan.**** ” Gohan narrowed his eyes in confusion. “ ** **What is the last thing you remember, young Gohan****?”

Gohan thought for a moment.

“I remember training on Frieza Planet 442, heading home in the pod, then… nothing. I woke up here.” The black-haired boy turned back towards the pod, his head tilted. “What happened? This didn’t feel like I hit a gravity well or a cosmic disturbance. It was too smooth to be anything random or even natural.” He looked around, eyes flicking around the landscape before landing on All Might. “All Might, right? Can you explain exactly where we are?”

All Might nodded and explained that they were currently in a deserted area outside of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He pointed out the most recognizable landmark in the area: Mount Fuji. 

Gohan gazed at the famous mountain with no recognition, something that baffled All Might. Everyone in the world knew about Mount Fuji, even if they had never seen it. And the boy spoke perfect Japanese with a slight rural accent, all without seeming to have to think about his words. This would only happen to a native speaker or a speaker with many years of experience. There were no signs of amnesia outside of his lack of knowledge of basic aspects of the world. 

All Might was well aware of the fact that, although he was by no means an idiot, he was not the smartest man in the world. But he did know one of the smartest beings on the planet, as well as some of the best investigative minds. Perhaps they would be able to help him figure out this mystery boy. 

“ ** **Young Son, I am unsure how I can help you. However, I believe that I know of someone who can help! Will you come with me and meet them?**** ” All Might held out his hand to Gohan, his vibrant smile on full display. Gohan looked into All Might’s eyes before sighing.

“Alright. I’ll follow you to them. Where are they?” All Might pointed to the northeast again. 

“ ** **They are in Musutafu, a couple hours away by train. If you’ll consent to being carried by me, I can get us there in just a few minutes.**** ” A deadpan stare was his answer.

“Just go. I’ll follow you.” With that, the teen turned back to the pod and tossed something at it. A plume of smoke surrounded the pod and a small pill-shaped object was left on the ground in place of the pod. Gohan picked it up and floated up to eye-level with All Might. 

' ** **Does this boy have multiple Quirks? He miniaturized the pod as well as flight. But how is that possible? Was he an experiment by All For One who escaped? That might explain his lack of knowledge! I must get him to Principal Nezu and immediately if that is the case!**** ’ 

All Might jumped into the air towards Musutafu, expecting to need to slow down for the young man to catch up to his prodigious speed. A backwards flick of his eyes revealed the young man to be directly behind the Pro Hero. He smirked and used a New Hampshire Smash to propel himself forward at full speed, eager to see if the young man could keep up. All Might laughed with joy as he saw Gohan effortlessly keep pace with him.

“ ** **You are certainly skilled, young Son! Surely you could become an amazing hero yourself in the future!**** ” Gohan smirked slightly, as if he just remembered an inside joke. Several minutes later, All Might called back to the young Saiyan.

“ ** **Young Son! I apologize, but we must take a small detour before I can introduce you to my associates!**** ” All Might turned his head to look backward and was startled to see Gohan’s face inches from his own. 

“For what reason do we need to stop?” 

“ ** **Oh dear Kami!**** ” All Might stammered in surprise at Gohan’s close proximity. “ ** **Oh, I have a student who is presently training on a nearby beach. I left him to his own devices when I went to find you, so I need to tell him it is time to go home!**** ”

Gohan contemplated for a moment, resting his hand on his chin. All Might was fascinated by his complete comfort in the air. It seemed like the boy wasn’t bothered by gravity or his own orientation. Even the best flyer-type heroes were constantly aware of their orientation toward the ground while in flight, yet this boy was moving through the air as if he was standing firmly on the street.

“Fine. It would be cruel to leave him without his master for too long.” 

All Might grinned at the teenager and launched himself down toward Dagabah Beach.

“ ** **Young Midoriya, I am here! Again! With a new friend!**** ” 

Izuku looked up from his exercises in confusion. 

“A new friend?” he said. “Is he from that sphere thing that fell out of the sky?” 

Gohan grinned, exposing a sharp canine. “You’re brighter than you look, kid. Good eye. Yep, that was my pod. I’m Gohan.” He turned to All Might, his lips dropping into a thin line. “There, we checked on your student. He’s still alive and it doesn’t look like there’s anything that will kill him on the beach except maybe tetanus.” 

All Might sighed. “ ** **Young Midoriya, you may go on home. We will pick up tomorrow, bright and early!**** ” 

Izuku nodded tiredly, his eyes never leaving the other teen. Izuku’s eyes became wide as Gohan launched himself into the air, hovering several hundred feet over All Might and himself. 

“All Might, who is this guy? Does he have a flying Quirk?!” 

“ ** **I’m not sure yet, Young Midoriya,**** ” All Might muttered. “ ** **But I must bring him to a friend at UA who may be able to help! I will see you tomorrow and explain things if I can!**** ” With that, All Might threw himself into the air.

The unlikely pair landed on the roof of UA significantly later, All Might landing with a mighty ‘thud’ while Gohan landed with a much lighter step. All Might coughed heavily, ending in a spray of blood from between his clenched teeth. The massive, muscle-bound man erupted into steam, obscuring Gohan’s view briefly. 

“Ojii-san Are you ok?” 

The steam faded away, revealing an emaciated man in place of the muscular All Might. The skeletal man had blood dripping from between his teeth, his bones almost jutting out of his skin. Gohan rushed to his side.

“Where is the nearest medical facility that can treat you?” 

All Might shook his head furiously. 

“No, no.” Even his voice had changed. “This is my new normal, I’m afraid. Besides, my doctor is here, ironically enough.”

“And where is here?” Gohan asked, looking around. 

“UA High,” All Might stated proudly with a massive smile, even as blood dripped from his mouth. “My alma mater and the place where the smartest individual I know works.” The skeletal man stood up, wiping the blood from his chin. “Come on, I’ll show you who I want you to speak with.”

Gohan followed the hero into the school, All Might’s lanky and shriveled form moving quickly and purposefully. The hero politely knocked, displaying manners that seemed to be out of place from the gregarious personality he had displayed previously. Once the doors opened, both eyebrows shot up as high as they could go.

“Yes, All Might? How can I help you this evening?” 

The being who opened the door looked… unusual. It almost looked like a mouse or dog or maybe a very small bear. A large scar slashed vertically across the animal’s right eye, though the eye seemed to function perfectly fine. 

“Well sir, I assume you noticed the object that flew out of the sky this evening,” All Might asked.

“Of course,” the animal replied. “I even asked a few hero agencies close to the disturbance to check it out. They said it appeared to be an empty crater, however.” 

All Might and Gohan simultaneously reached up and rubbed the back of their heads. 

“That may have been my fault, Principal Nezu, sir,” All Might said with a sheepish grin. He gestured back to Gohan. “That’s actually why I’m here. This young man was that object, or at least was inside it.” 

Principal Nezu peered at Gohan, then he turned and gestured the pair inside. 

“Alright, All Might. Let’s hear what has occurred.”

All three stepped into the small suite of rooms. Principal Nezu quickly prepared a pot of tea and poured three cups. Struggling up on the couch, the small animal picked up his own cup and took a sip. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and looked directly into Gohan’s own eyes. 

“I’m listening.” 

The pair relayed the strange circumstances which had led Gohan’s ship to crash into the ground. Nezu looked concerned at implications that All Might laid out concerning All For One while Gohan just looked confused.

“Hold on, who is this All For One person? I already told you, I don’t remember anyone involved in me arriving here! You’re making a lot of connections with some shaky evidence.” 

“I would tend to agree,” Nezu said as he shook his head. “Although All For One is known for moving in these unusual methods, there is no concrete evidence in his involvement.” Nezu was interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn from Gohan. The animal smiled indulgently. “Though I do believe that we should cover this in the morning. The mystery of how you arrived here can certainly wait for tomorrow. We have a room that you can sleep in for the night.” Nezu motioned for his visitors to leave. Both men stood up, bowed to the small principal and left.

**_**Later That Night: Gohan POV** _ **

Gohan shifted on the long couch, his lanky form spilling over the edges. A tortured groan came from the young half-Sayian, his back creaking as he moved. It hadn’t been more than a couple of days since he had finished the harshest training he’d experienced since the Hyperbolic Time Chamber prior to the Cell Games. 

An amethyst light swirled into existence, throwing colored light across the walls of the staff lounge where the young Sayian was resting. Gohan leaped off the couch, throwing his thin blanket across the room as he settled into a ready stance. A tall male humanoid with lightly tanned skin, a red mohawk, and pointed ears, stepped out of the purple swirl of light. The figure was huge, well over seven feet and covered in muscles, and wore a gold-edged black tunic over loose green clothes. 

“Greetings, young Sayian. I am South Supreme Kai. I have come to tell you about why you are here.” 

Gohan narrowed his eyes and maintained his stance. From what little he understood of the Kai’s, they were usually reluctant to interfere with mortal affairs in any meaningful way. His understanding, based on his discussions and lessons with Piccolo, Dende and Mr. Popo, was that the Kai’s could not actively intervene in mortal matters unless someone broke a major law of nature like gaining immortality. 

“Please, take a seat. I am not here to harm you.” 

“Pull the other one, it has bells on,” Gohan scoffed. “Generally, involuntary dimensional transportation does not indicate a lack of hostility.” It was the ginger’s turn to narrow his eyes. Gohan’s lips quirked up into a slight smirk. “Yes, I figured out that I’m in a different dimension. It wasn’t a hard deduction.” The Supreme Kai continued his narrow-eyed stare at the young Sayian.

“Yes, you were transported between dimensions by me. You pose a danger to our universe, young Sayian, a danger that I was unwilling to allow to remain.” Gohan felt a foreign energy constrict his muscles as he began to move. “I did request that you take a seat. As a Supreme Kai, I am… unused to being disobeyed by foolish mortals.” 

“…. Fine,” Gohan growled, his tone far closer to his mentor’s than usual. “Let me free and we can have a civil conversation, _Supreme Kai-sama._ ” 

The agitated teen strode back to the couch, his usually graceful steps more stiff than usual. The Kai conjured a chair and took his own seat, casually crossing his legs over each other. 

“Young Sayian, I will explain your exile and the conditions for your return. First, your exile is both your own doing and the doing of the Fate’s. The newest transformation that you were attempting created aftershocks in the World of the Kai’s, something that is rarely done and never taken lightly. 

I have been observing you closely since your fight with that Cell creature five years ago. I saw the rage and fury that you used to support your transformation. This history of beserk rage and cold-blooded violence prompted me to continue observing you, hoping that you would gain control over your transformation and continue your father’s tendency to meddle for the good of the universe.” Gohan leaned forward during this explanation, his onyx eyes giving away nothing of his emotional state. “As you could imagine, I was quite happy when you trained alongside your planet’s former Guardian to harness your power and removed the emotional component of your transformation. However, your continued pushing for more power continued to concern me. This urge for power, admittedly one that both species you belong to share, caused you to discover your latest transformation. One where the successful transformation caused aftershocks in the _Spirit Realm_!” The Supreme Kai took a deep breath, his now-reddish complexion fading back to its normal color and his fists unclenching. “I made a decision to not allow this threat to the universe in which I guard to remain.”

“You decided to transport me away from my home, my friends, family, my _responsibilities_ , in hopes that I would NOT give into my rage and fury? That seems like a terrible decision.” Sparks began to leap off of Gohan’s body, his black hair beginning to wave in an ethereal wind. “Please, give me reasons to not rip out your spleen and waterboard you with the fluids until you send me back. My master taught me to have respect for the Kai’s, but he also taught to not take shit and think it’s gold.”

“First,” said the Kai as he subtly straightened his back, his neutral expression not shifting, “I am a god, boy. Show some respect. Secondly, I have determined a pair of methods in which you can be allowed back to our own dimension.” 

The light wind surrounding Gohan ebbed slightly while the sparks surrounding him remained flickering around his seated form. 

“How?” 

“First: Should you die a heroic death, one where you retain your body after death as your father and master did, you will be granted entrance back to your home dimension to live out your afterlife with your family and friends. Second: Should our dimension come under mortal threat that none but you would be able to defeat, you will be allowed to come back to defeat the threat and your exile will be reconsidered at that stage. Do you understand these conditions?” 

Gohan considered the options for a moment. A heroic death was almost a guarantee, given his proclivity for finding tyrants and toppling them. Eventually, that would catch up to him like it had for his father. However, it would mean that he would never see his family alive again and that was a gut-wrenching thought that he didn’t want to continue considering. But a threat that would require his specific power? That would be a hit-or-miss proposition, even with his dimensions’ track record. It could happen, and then he could die anyway, making it a moot point. Perhaps there was a choice ‘C’… 

“What about a third option? One where I can return while still alive and my universe is not under threat.” Gohan locked eyes with the Kai, determination in his eyes. “What if I can find the limits of my power? Push to the limit of my power and show that it is mastered, the emotional trigger no longer required just as I have shown with the Ascended Super Saiyan form? Would the Council of Kai’s permit me back in that instance?”

South Supreme Kai looked taken back at the knowledge that Gohan displayed concerning the Kai’s. Piccolo had told Gohan that few mortals had ever heard about the Council, outside of the individual Guardians for each planet. Obviously, the Kai had not been prepared for anyone to know about it. 

“Of course. If you show that you have reached the limits of your power and can control it without being consumed by the rage and fury which drives you, then the _Council_ will consider your request.” Gohan got a suspicious vibe off of the way that the Kai said the word _Council._ He stood and bowed anyway.

“Thank you, Supreme Kai-sama.” 

The Kai stood, his conjured chair disappearing as he did so. As he began his gesture to open the portal back to their home dimension, he was interrupted. 

“Just one more request, Supreme Kai-sama. I would like to contact my old master and inform him about my present condition and whereabouts. Just so that they know what has happened to me and do not worry what has happened. After all,” a sly tone entering the boy’s voice “you wouldn’t want people like my father and master asking inconvenient questions in the Spirit World, would you?” 

The Supreme Kai threw a confused look at the boy.

“I don’t know what you mean, boy.” Gohan’s smirk had made its reappearance and the young Saiyan knew it irritated the Kai.

“I noticed that when you were explaining your reasons for exiling me, you only ever referred to you. You observed, you decided, you could not allow. The only time the Council of Supreme Kai’s was mentioned was after I brought it up. Then there was the inflection of your voice when you said the Council would consider my case when I offered my third option, like the Council didn’t matter. And finally, from what I remember from my lessons on the structure of the Kai’s decision-making system was that major, universe-level decisions on the level of the Supreme Kai were made by the Council of Kai’s. Not an individual Kai. So if you did what I suspect you did and made this decision on your own, you’d rather whispers didn’t get back to the Council. So I’ll play your game for the moment as long as you allow me to contact my master and explain what’s happening.” Gohan was standing with his back straight and eyes boring into the Kai. 

The Kai ground his teeth, but eventually relaxed and nodded, stepping through his amethyst portal to leave the room in darkness once more. Gohan could guess what he was thinking, that it didn’t matter if he contacted Piccolo. What could a former Guardian do against the word of one of the Five Supreme Kai? The young Saiyan grinned. Being underestimated was a familiar feeling for him. 

** **End Chapter** **


	2. Meetings? Meetings!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan has several meetings!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry this took longer than I originally thought. I've re-written this chapter probably five different times in the last couple of weeks, but I finally got a version that I think I'm happy with. Please enjoy and leave a review. Reviews really do motivate me to work on my stories.

Chapter Two: Meetings? Meetings!

Gohan awoke on the couch in the center of the small staff lounge, stretching to work out the kinks that the tiny couch had left in his spine. The room was still wreathed in darkness, although the curtains were opened so he could see the city lights twinkling in the distance. He sat up, noticing a small note laying on the low table beside the couch. He snatched up the note, frowning at the unfamiliar handwriting and the strangely heavy paper.

'I will bring your master to meet with you for no more than one half of an Earth hour in twenty minutes.'

Gohan raised an eyebrow at the note. He honestly hadn't expected the Kai to uphold his end of the bargain. A welcome surprise, but a surprise, nonetheless.

The young Saiyan stood and walked to the small sink in one corner of the lounge, cleaning his face and neck before running a damp hand through his thick black hair. Gohan proceeded to fill a cup with water and poured it into the tea maker sitting on the counter, carrying the tea maker to the low-slung coffee table beside the couch. He waited a few moments for the tea to warm and steep before pouring himself a cup of tea, settling on the couch to await his visitors.

After a few moments of waiting, a violet disc opened up in the middle of the room. Two tall figures stepped out of the disc, one easily recognizable as the South Supreme Kai. The other was exceptionally tall with green skin and exposed pink muscles, sporting a purple gi with a pure white cloak. Gohan stood and bowed at the waist to the green-skinned man.

"Master Piccolo."

Piccolo nodded to his student before stepping over to stand beside him. "Supreme Kai said that you had something to explain."

Gohan nodded. "The South Supreme Kai has informed me that I have been sent into exile."

Piccolo jerked his head back like he had been slapped. "He said what? For what reason has the Council of Kai's done this?!" The green man stood up facing the Kai, who stood with a small smirk.

"We deemed him too dangerous for our dimension, Namekian." The smirking Kai waved a hand, paralyzing the Namekian before he could do anything. A second wave paralyzed Gohan as well. "I exiled the whelp because he decided to mess with powers beyond the kin of mortals. The only reason I even allowed this meeting was because it provided some amusement for me. I decided to be a benevolent Kai and allowed you to have contact with him one last time before he is forever lost to you." The Kai brought his significant power to bear on the pair, leveling his ki presence on them like a series of massive weights. After a few moments, a small flick of his hand unfroze both Gohan and Piccolo.

The green-skinned man glowered at the Kai, his ki spiking dangerously high. Gohan placed a hand on Piccolo's arm before his master lunged at the smirking Kai.

"Don't worry about it, master Piccolo. What's done is done. Neither of us is powerful enough to go against one of the Supreme Kai's." The young Saiyan gave his master a hard look. "Besides, this world isn't so bad. Not a ton of planet-wide threats, so I'm really mostly in danger of getting bored after a while. Also, being a superhero is an actual job for the government here. Maybe I'll become a superhero." Gohan shrugged with a crooked grin.

Piccolo's expression darkened as he looked at his student. They stared at one another for a moment before Piccolo relaxed. "What do you want me to tell your mother and the others?"

"Something resembling the truth. I'm stuck somewhere, out of contact, I'm not in danger. Keep Vegeta in check, make sure Goten and Trunks are getting the mental training that they need to balance out their physical training. Give them what they need to hear, try to be there for my mother and Goten. They'll need you." Gohan reached out a hand to his mentor.

Piccolo grasped his forearm, patting the younger man on the shoulder. "I'm ready to return, Supreme Kai." Piccolo stepped back to be shoulder to shoulder with the Kai. The Kai opened another purple disc behind them and stepped backward through it. Piccolo took one last look at his old student. "Be the best hero you can be. You are your father's son, my greatest student, and most importantly: Son Gohan." With that, the former Guardian of Earth stepped back through the disc.

Gohan took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. He walked to the center of the staff room and sat in the Lotus position, cupping his hands in his lap. The Saiyan centered himself, his mind going blank as he brought his focus inward. Part of his normal routine, Gohan had reduced his need for sleep by utilizing intense and regular meditation. That training certainly helped him keep up with both his schoolwork and his training in the past, as well as helping him deal with a number of his emotional issues. This was certainly a good time to meditate on his emotions.

After an hour of meditation, Gohan smoothly stood and began to run through the most basic kata of the Turtle School, slowly at first, then building up to quarter speed. Once he finished running through the Ninety-Nine Apprentice Katas and the Fifty Journeyman Katas, the young Saiyan switched over to a style that was less familiar. Gohan ran through the katas, much more hesitant than with the Turtle Katas. He would change small movements and positions before retracing the kata from the beginning.

Gohan noticed the lanky blonde from yesterday was against the doorway, watching him go through the stuttering motions of the new kata. Once the young Saiyan reached a good stopping place, he straightened and turned to face his visitor.

"Yes, All Might-san?"

The lanky blonde grinned at the teen. "I was just curious about your fighting. I am not a martial artist myself, but I've been around enough heroes who utilize them to recognize an expert. And you, my boy, are certainly an expert. Though I can definitively say that I've never seen either of those styles before."

"One is an old style, passed down for centuries, and taught to me by my father. The other is more of a… work in progress. The final step in becoming a Master, in the eyes of many Masters. Creation and contribution."

"Many heroes who teach at this very school do so in an attempt to accomplish those goals." All Might's grin stretched across his skeletal features. "Contributing to the next generation, creating new techniques and molding new minds."

Gohan continued to move about the room as he talked with All Might. He folded the blanket neatly, placing it on the end of the couch. He frowned and pinched his torn gi top, pulling it away from his torso. He sniffed it and crinkled his nose.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare change of clothes, would you? I didn't really plan to need any more clothes until I reached home and that obviously hasn't happened."

"I thought you might want something like that before meeting with anyone else. I think it should fit, I guessed your general size." All Might pulled a hand from behind his back and tossed a folded set of blue cloth at the young man.

Gohan flashed the gaunt hero a grin and waved him out of the door. A few moments later, Gohan stepped outside the staff lounge in a blue tracksuit adorned with white lines. Gohan followed the hero back to the large office that he had been in the night before. The strange creature (Gohan was still unsure if he was a dog, a mouse, a cat, or some unnatural combination thereof) was sitting calmly behind a massive desk with a cup of tea in hand. A quick look around the room revealed another man sitting in the corner, wearing a trench coat.

"Ah, good morning, young man. Please, take a seat."

Gohan bowed respectfully to the strange creature before taking his seat. "Thank you, Nezu-san. What was it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

#

Principal Nezu POV

Nezu smiled into his cup of tea, his clever eyes taking in the young man sitting before him. The strange creature loved puzzles and mysteries, of all kinds, and this young man was an enigma wrapped in layers of mystery inside a puzzle. Everything from the torn clothing that he wore the previous evening to the graceful movements he exhibited with every step. His movements were similar to many of the trained pro heroes that Nezu had seen come and go over the years. No one moved with that sort of grace without a significant amount of training and experience fighting for their life.

"Young man, All Might said that you had a number of things that you needed to tell me. Things that are so… outlandish that I would be hard-pressed to believe it." Nezu could tell that the young man was concealing a slight smile. His emotional control was on par with many pros that Nezu knew who held many years of experience.

"You know, this entire situation seems to be outlandish, if I'm to be honest, sir. I was just on my way home when I ended up here, entirely against my will."

"Please, have a cup of tea and tell me your tale," Nezu said with a nod, gently setting down his teacup and motioning to the teapot on his desk

Gohan gave a smile and poured himself a cup of tea, carefully cradling it in his large hands. He settled back in the chair and gave Nezu a smile that didn't quite reach his obsidian eyes.

"Well, to begin with, I would appreciate an introduction to everyone in the room. Some of what I have to say is sensitive and highly personal." As he spoke, Gohan turned in his seat to look at a man sitting in the corner of the room. "I sincerely hope that you didn't come here with the intention of restraining me. It's not likely to end well for you." Nezu gave a small smile and waved the man over.

"Young man, this is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. He is a close friend of both myself and All Might, as well as an excellent detective. He is certainly not here to arrest you or try to detain you, merely to help us verify the veracity of your claims."

The man extended a hand to Gohan. The two men were similar in coloring, tan skin with dark features. The major difference between the two men, other than age, was the sheer size of the younger man. Nezu was accustomed to large men filled with muscle, most male pro heroes were heavily muscled after all, but this Gohan seemed to be different. His muscles were compact and dense, cords of muscle readily apparent even while the boy sat still and was wearing a long-sleeved gym uniform. Every animal instinct in Nezu was screaming at him that this was an alpha predator.

"Detective."

Gohan nodded to the older man as Tsukauchi took a seat beside him. Nezu hid a small smile at the acceptance of the detective. Gohan had no way of knowing that Tsukauchi's Quirk was invaluable in proving the truth of things. He was the True Man, and his Quirk was virtually inescapable. If this boy lied, a flash of silver would warn Nezu without alarming his visitor.

"Now, if you will regale us with your tale, young man. I assure you, we are all ears." Nezu wiggled his round ears to punctuate his remark and lower the tension in the room. Gohan leaned back and rubbed one hand under his chin, looking out over Nezu's shoulder at the slowly waking city outside UA's walls.

"I am not from this dimension," Gohan said slowly. Nezu flicked his eyes to Tsukauchi, whose eyes remained black, confirmed the insane statement that came from the young man. "In more than one way, I am an alien to this world. My father hails from a world called Vegeta, a planet far from here. In my dimension, he was sent to Earth as a baby in order to wipe out all life and sell the planet to the highest bidder." Nezu twitched at the thought of a child being capable of wiping out a planet's population. "Luckily for everyone involved, my father fell and hit his head as a toddler which caused him to lose his memory. He became a protector of Earth, fighting many beings, and groups that were determined to harm people. He raised me to do the same. When death finally took him six years ago, I took up his place as the protector of our home."

"But you were a child," All Might interrupted. "You're not much more than a child now!"

"My first fight was when my uncle kidnapped me and I broke out of his ship," Gohan said with a shrug, "I believe I was four? Although I wasn't trained until a little later when my father's greatest enemy kidnapped me and trained me for six months. I've been involved in every major attack on our planet by forces who would destroy it since then." Tea spilled across Nezu's desk, the animal's features frozen. "My life has been… interesting, to say the least. Are you ok, Principal Nezu?"

"Yes, yes. Just taken aback, that is all. Please, continue." The small animal waved away Gohan's concern.

"Alright," Gohan said quietly. "Well, I continued to train myself, knowing that eventually there would be a threat that would require more strength than I held when I took up the mantle. Though much of my training took the form of meditation and bringing out the maximum amount of control over the power that I held at the time rather than gaining more raw power." Gohan turned to face All Might. "I imagine that much of your own training is in that field, correct?"

Nezu did not bother to hide his wide grin. This boy could be the person that he had been hunting for over the past five years since All Might received his injury.

"He has turned to that point of view slowly, yes," Nezu said, "though it has taken him a number of years to get to that point. But tell us, young Gohan, what brought you here?"

Gohan turned back to face the principal.

"That's where I was heading with that line of thought. I continued training and found a new depth to my power, one that was potentially damaging to my home." Tsukauchi leaned forward at this, ignoring Nezu's dismissive wave.

"What do you mean, a new depth to your power? And how was it potentially dangerous?" The detective continued meeting the eyes of the young Sayian, one hand in a fist under Tsukauchi's chin.

"I mean," Gohan said, seemingly unperturbed by the intense stare of the detective, "that I dug deeper into myself and found more power. The amount of power that I wield is not without tradeoffs or physical manifestations. My newfound strength threatened to shake apart the planet with its raw power." Nezu could tell that Gohan was aware of the alarm that his words caused in the detective and All Might. The small creature allowed him to continue his tale, knowing there would be more to come. "Knowing that I could not continue to train my power and risk my home, but I couldn't avoid training that power which would potentially be necessary to defend my home in the future, I left to find a deserted planet on which I could train."

Nezu grinned at the boy. This was truly fated, this young man's arrival here. Someone with the power to defend all and the intelligence to mitigate damage while maximizing power. Now there was only one thing that the small creature truly needed to know and that was if the boy knew how to communicate effectively. The small creature waved Gohan to continue his story.

"After training my new power to a relatively stable level, I started back to my home planet. As I was going, a purple portal opened in my path and transported me into a new place. It also knocked out the power to my ship, so I got to crash instead of being able to land normally. I was unclear as to how or why I ended up here until late last night when I received a late-night visitor."

All Might and Tsukauchi shifted at that, concern evident to Nezu. The small mammal was also concerned that someone could come here, in the center of a high-security facility, without anyone knowing but his curiosity overrode that concern for the moment. Particularly since nothing obviously destructive happened overnight.

"What do you mean, a late-night visitor?" All Might apparently could not override his concern. Though knowing the hero's personality, that was normal for him. Gohan rolled his eyes, a motion that was so at odds with his stone-like demeanor that it almost caused Nezu to burst into laughter. The small creature could tell that the apparent break in his stone-like mask was calculated, made to put those in his company at ease rather than a true expression of emotion.

"If you wait for a moment, I'll get to it." All Might opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again at a withering glance from Tsukauchi. "Thank you. As I said, I had a visitor last night. He told me that I was in a new dimension, that he had sent me here, and that I was essentially exiled by him." Tsukauchi leaned forward.

"Who is this person? Under what authority can he exile you and for what reason?" Gohan flashed a flat grin at the detective.

"The authority of the gods, unfortunately. He is the South Supreme Kai, one of the High Gods of my universe. As for what offense I caused, it was essentially scaring the gods. My new power could be felt by the gods and it apparently scared them, considering that I might have a history with rage issues."

"Rage issues," Nezu stated with a raised eyebrow. Gohan rubbed the back of his head with one hand, his blank expression giving way momentarily to a sheepish one. Nezu could tell that the feeling was genuine, though the break was still done with calculation.

"Yeah… the first time I access new levels of power, it's usually through a feeling of rage and/or trauma. And I tend to be lost in that rage when I reach the new power, though it has become a much colder rage than it used to be." Gohan shrugged, lowering his arm.

Nezu could feel the concern radiating from All Might like a furnace. The brawny hero was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, something that made him an excellent hero but a terrible investigator. Nezu was unsure if his concern was due to the fact that the young man required rage and mental trauma as a trigger (a potentially dangerous thing) or because he obviously had experienced that trauma before. Nezu now knew why Gohan had a sturdy emotional mask. It was a necessity if his power was heightened by strong emotions like rage and he had experienced enough combat to cause mental trauma.

"That tendency towards uncontrolled emotion linked to power caused him some concern, so the Kai took it upon himself to remove me from the equation. He told me that I can come back if I can reach the limits of my power and prove that I can control them safely, if I die a heroic death, or if there is a threat to my home universe which the gods cannot handle. Outside of those three options, I'm stuck here unless I can devise some way to slip back without his notice."

Nezu nodded and looked over at Tsukauchi.

"Sir," the detective began, "I haven't had any indications that he has lied during this conversation. As outrageous as his tale is, it is the truth."  
Nezu let a small smile curl on his face.

"Son-san, what have you gleaned about where you are?"

"Many things, Nezu-san," Gohan said, his mask firmly in place. "Things about yourself, things about your world. Though I'm sure there is much I still don't know. About where I am, I know that this is a center of learning for heroes, considering your title and that it is one of the premier facilities for that purpose. If it wasn't, then the Number One Hero wouldn't have made it a priority to bring the visitor straight here. I also gleaned that heroes are government workers, or at least associated with the government in some fashion. If they weren't, there wouldn't be an obviously well-funded school with close cooperation with the police force. Heroes are obviously the pinnacle of society, the ones held up to the masses to be considered both example and savior. On my Earth, martial artists are often held up in much the same way, particularly after a Tenkaichi Budokai tournament." Gohan cut his eyes to meet Nezu's.

"Though there is plenty that I have gleaned about you, Nezu-san." Gohan stood and motioned towards the framed documents and photos scattered across the wall and the bookcases littering the room. "You are well-read and highly educated, however, you pride yourself on your students over your own achievements. Your degrees but sit high, out of your reach, and convenient eyeline. Photos of your students, primarily ones from yearbooks and school festivals, sit lower on the wall. They would seem to be of lower status if the office belonged to someone like All Might or even the detective, but they are, in reality, precisely where you would be able to see them every time that you move about your office."

All Might looked around the office as if it was his first visit, not a place that he had been in many times over the past several years. Tsukauchi was rubbing his chin, hiding a grin from the young man Nezu was interviewing.

"You also feel a responsibility to safeguard civilization, something that you remind yourself every time you look outside your window at the city below," The young Saiyan said as he turned and looked at the cityscape through the windows behind Nezu. "The view, besides being aesthetically pleasing, reminds you that their prosperity is dependent upon the abilities of the students who leave your halls. It also is useful to impress and intimidate any student unfortunate enough to require a trip to your office as well as any government official who sees it as a proper status symbol for a being of your social stature." Gohan turned his eyes onto Nezu, black eyes meeting one another. "Do you want me to go on or did I pass your test?"

"Heheheheh," Nezu quietly chuckled, a massively unsettling grin splitting his face. "You pass with flying colors, young man! I was expecting you to pick up on the first bit, but your deductions are on par with many of our top heroes and detectives! Detective Tsukauchi, what did you think?"

The detective was silent for a moment. "I do have one question for you. To you, what makes a hero?"

Gohan took a deep breath and let it out. "A hero, huh? That's been a word that has been thrown about a lot on my world. I've been called a hero, though I dispute the validity of that." The young Saiyan looked up at the ceiling before moving on. "I would say that the purpose of a hero, in the popular sense of the term, is to protect through strength. Those on my world that are considered heroes by the population are generally those who are willing to show their strength to the masses and help them feel safe. Even if the hero takes advantage of that fame for profit and glory, the people still feel safe when they are around. That is a definition of a hero for many." Gohan trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

All Might shifted uncomfortably. Nezu could tell that the older hero was thinking about the Number Two Hero, Endeavor.

"Others would say that a hero is someone who always is on the side of justice and truth, someone whose heart is pure. Someone who was willing to see the good in all people and ready to give anyone the chance to change into the best version of themselves, no matter how many times you have to fight them and win. A compassionate person with the strength to back it up." Gohan had a small smile dancing across his lips. "Most of my father's friends would agree with this definition. Even I would have agreed with this definition a few years ago. It describes the man who was my hero for most of my life, my own father."

Nezu leaned forward, black eyes boring into Gohan. Everything that he had said coincided with the two major perceptions of heroes in the world. One side said that solely strength was paramount to heroes, the other saying it was compassion back with strength. "And you, young Gohan. I can't help but notice you said 'others' and 'some people'. Never 'I believe'."

The young Saiyan gave him a crooked smile. "I didn't, did I? Well, my master forced me to pick up meditation, as I mentioned before. I've spent a lot of the last six years meditating, thinking, contemplating. I was called a hero by my family friends because I helped destroy a great evil, even though I lost myself to my own rage and caused the death of my father. My father was called a hero because he fought threat after threat, even when his actions and desire for a good fight caused some of those threats. I've come to realize that a hero is not the person who fights the good fight or is the strongest. A hero is the person who does what is necessary to protect those they love, even at the cost of their own lives, even if it can put them at odds with the people they love. Sometimes that takes the form of overwhelming power, other times it takes the place of teaching someone to stand on their own two feet."

Nezu shrewdly kept his mouth shut, impressed with the young man's deep and sophisticated introspection about the question. Some instinct told him that it wasn't time to interject just yet, an instinct that caused him to shoot All Might a look to prevent him from speaking.

"My master taught me to stand on my own two feet, but he had the power to protect me when I was too young or too weak to protect myself, and then gave me the guidance to become my own person. He's a hero. My mother gave up her kingdom for love and was essentially a single mother for much of my life, yet she made sure to teach me how to use my mind. Most said she pushed too hard, but she just wanted to make sure that I had the option of standing on my own feet against the best minds in the universe instead of just thinking with my fists. She's a hero. My father sacrificed himself, multiple times because that's what it took to save the world. He wasn't the best teacher or the best father, but he was certainly a hero." Gohan looked over at Tsukauchi. "What makes a hero? Strength and fortitude, balanced by compassion."

Tsukauchi remained silent, his dark eyes never wavered from looking into the eyes of the younger man. He then smiled and leaned back into his chair. "Nezu, I support your recommendation."

Gohan and All Might looked from Tsukauchi to Principal Nezu, both tilting their heads to the side in a comically identical manner. The small mammal stood on his chair, bracing his paws on the desk as he leaned forward.

"Young Gohan-san, I want to offer you a unique opportunity here at my school. I believe that you have the heart of a hero, but in our society, you require the qualifications to be a hero as well. However, it would do you a grave disservice to be simply placed among our hero classes like a regular student, with your maturity, experience, and age. Instead, I would like for you to become a teacher assistant!"

"What kind of assistant," Gohan asked. "I'm not really sure how much different the things that I learned back home are from how things are here."

"Essentially, you will be working alongside the teachers during certain classes while taking online coursework to fill in any academic gaps. Our written final exams should give us a good idea of what academic coursework you will need. I would like for you to work with our Heroics Course."

"When would I be taking those exams? For that matter, when does school begin here? I'm not opposed to helping students, but what exactly would I be doing?"

Nezu waved a negligent hand. "Our entrance exams are in six months, which is when I would like for you to take your own exams. I would like for you to take a short combat exam the day before the entrance exams, however, so that our staff can gauge your personal combat abilities. A small spar, that's all. It would help to assuage some of our more stubborn staff of your qualifications."

"Sir, if I could get the texts used in the coursework and have use of your lounge for one more night, I can go and prepare for what you wish for me to do. I would also like to have the intro texts for teaching. I have little experience as a teacher and I would hate for my students to suffer for my ineptness." Gohan stood and bowed to the small creature.

"Of course, Gohan-san." Nezu wrote something on a small piece of paper, handing it to the tall teen. "Give that to the librarian and she will give you the relevant texts on a tablet."

Gohan nodded and stepped around the chairs to leave, but All Might's skeletal hand was in his way.

"Young Gohan-san, can I ask you to help my young protege, whom you met at the beach? While he will inherit my power before attending, he doesn't have the requisite body strength to handle even the lowest portion of my power at the moment. He also does not have any sort of combat training to help him use the power. Unfortunately, with my strength and his present… frailness, I cannot properly spar with him. Using my powered form, I would not be able to land a single blow without killing the boy but my present form is also not suited for any kind of sustained combat. It would give you a chance to gain some experience in teaching combat to others before you have a class full of them. I believe it would also help him to overcome some of his shyness in a more controlled setting than school, interacting with you. I would ask that you keep the fact that you and I will be faculty a secret, though. No one is supposed to know about me coming to UA and I'm guessing that Nezu-sama doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag in regard to you either."

Nezu's grin settled into a smile. All Might's request would help Nezu's plans more than the hulking hero knew, right down to the request for Gohan to keep quiet about coming to help at UA. Gohan nodded to the hero.

"Then I will take my leave. Good day, Detective-san, Principal-san, All Might-san." The young Saiyan gave each person a small bow and left the large office.

Nezu took a seat, waving for All Might to do the same. The gaunt man sank into the chair Gohan had previously occupied, staring at Nezu.

"What game are you playing, sir?"

"The same game that I am always playing: keeping our society safe." Nezu turned his chair back around, hiding a toothy grin. "I have seen a lot of heroes coming through these halls, both great ones, and not-so-great ones. Lately, many of our graduates have been falling into the 'not-so-great' category. One reason, among many, is that our heroes-in-training have focused too much on using their Quirks in combat instead of their bodies and minds. They see the glory and power of their Quirks and being heroes and our current teachers are too busy trying to bring them up to snuff to break them of that before they go into the field. A fine example of that mindset is when you first met young Midoryia, All Might."

"True," said the Number One hero slowly, nodding. "Young Midoryia's friend almost died even though there were four heroes at the scene. All because they believed their Quirks were unsuited for the situation and had no alternate skills to fall back upon. What are you thinking that he could teach, Nezu-sama?"

Nezu's grin full of teeth widened as he outlined his plan for both Gohan and the hero society. Plans that would either see his students thrive… or fail horribly.


	3. Combat Exam! Prove Yourself, Gohan!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan takes his Combat Exams to get into UA.

Six Months Later

Gohan stepped on the campus of UA for the first time since he met with Nezu half a year ago, still wearing the gym uniform that he borrowed when he first arrived, although the uniform was now somewhat ragged. A tattered backpack hung from his back, haphazardly filled with books of various sizes. 

As he stepped on the campus, the skeletal form of All Might stepped out from behind a nearby tree and held up a long, thin hand. “Young Gohan!” 

Gohan waved to the man, giving him a wide grin. “Toshinori-san! Good morning!” Over the past six months, Gohan got to know the Number One Hero fairly well as he helped train All Might’s successor. The man was very similar to Gohan’s father, open, honest and earnest in his desire to help people. Toshinori was also had a wealth of knowledge about the world, from anecdotes about his hero work to goofy stories about his time traveling America, a different nation across the ocean to the East. The older hero was always happy to spend time with Gohan, answering questions about hero work or about the world overall. 

Toshinori waved Gohan over. “Come, young Gohan, I am to take you to your combat testing grounds!” He led Gohan onto the large campus, the large H-shaped building visible in the distance.

Gohan effortlessly kept pace with the lanky blonde, something that Toshinori appreciated after years of needing to slow down for his shorter colleagues. “So what kinds of tests are they having me do today, Toshinori-san? I know Nezu-kouchou said it would be a combat exam, but what sort of combat?” Gohan looked down, rubbing his chin. “Midoriya-san said that the standard entrance exam might be fighting against robots, though I was hoping for something a little more… intensive. Maybe if you saved some time, we can spar.” 

The emaciated blonde glanced back at Gohan, reaching up to scratch his temple. ‘Perhaps…’ Toshinori’s greatest strength in a fight was his overwhelming speed, power, and experience. Proper technique has something that he had dropped to the wayside years ago when it was apparent that his power was so overwhelming that technique didn’t matter. Gohan, however, had demonstrated his own enormous amounts of power and he had techniques in spades. Toshinori also suspected that Gohan was holding back, something that slightly worried the hero. Gohan had caused minor tremors while training to hold back his punches. He couldn’t deny, though, that sparring with the younger man was a tantalizing thought, if only for the novelty of using his maximum power without the stakes of a villain attack.

The pair came up to a small group of people standing in front of UA’s main building. Four individuals stood in a fanned out line, quietly chatting amongst themselves. As Toshinori and Gohan reached them, the chatting ceased, and all eyes locked on the pair. 

Gohan glanced over the four adults, noting their unusual outfits and relaxed postures. Two men stood in the middle, both thin and relatively tall with overlong hair. One had black lank hair arranged haphazardly across his shoulders, a gray layered scarf settled over a black jumpsuit. He had a bland expression across his face that contrasted with his eyes which, while drooping, were sharp enough to slice through steel. 

The other man was blonde, his overlong hair swept up into a single long, spiky swoosh. He wore a black jacket and similar black pants while a speaker-like device hung around his neck. He had a wide grin across his face that belied the watchfulness that his posture radiated. A pair of black sunglasses hid his eyes and headphones adorned his ears. His place closer to the black-haired man showed that the two of them were close allies, if not close friends. 

The woman standing by the black-haired man was tall, for a woman, and wore an exceptionally tight outfit that left little to the imagination. Her wild ebony hair framed her face and emphasized her smirking expression. A whip hung from her belt and she wore her sensuality like a cloak yet Gohan could tell that she could wield it like a sword. She was close to the black-haired man, but not as close as the blonde. Obviously all three were allies.

The last man was taller than the rest and had significantly more muscle than any of them. He wore a red spandex suit and had gray hair, his mouth set in a strong scowl that showcased two upward facing fangs. He was younger than the other three, his face less lined with stress than the other three. Obviously, they were colleagues, but he wasn’t part of the natural group that the other three formed. 

If it came down to a battle, Gohan knew that he would have to exploit the divisions between the adults. Isolate the man in red first, then the woman. The men in the middle would need to be dealt with together. 

Gohan opened his mouth to speak but stopped when the black-haired man’s scarf moved suddenly. The young Saiyan closed his mouth as Principal Nezu’s head popped out of the cloth. 

“Young Gohan! Welcome to UA!” 

Gohan blinked, tilted his head, and opened his mouth again. “Um… hello again, Nezu-kouchou. Is there a reason that you were hiding in a scarf?” 

The spiky-haired blonde raised a fist to his mouth, muffling what sounded like laughter. Nezu outright laughed about the frank question. “It’s actually very comfortable! I’d recommend it, but I don’t believe you would fit. Too bad, really, Aizawa-sensei really is very comfortable.” 

Gohan grinned at the white-furred mammal. He’d almost forgotten how much he enjoyed speaking with Nezu. “I’ll take your word for it, Nezu-kouchou. What is this combat exam you wanted me to take?” 

Nezu grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the morning sunlight as he used Aizawa’s scarf to rappel down from his perch. “Oh, I just couldn’t decide on a single test, so I decided on three tests!” He gestured to the blonde man to his left. “This is Yamada Hizashi-sensei, better known as the Voice Hero: Present Mic! He shall proctor the first test which is the standard entrance test for our hero course. Some of our faculty have expressed some misgivings as to my proposition for your position, so your testing shall help to put those misgivings to rest. Oh, and before I forget, these are your other proctors: Kayama Nemuri, otherwise known as the R-Rated Heroine: Midnight,” the woman cracked her whip against the ground, a massive grin adorning her face; “Aizawa Shouta, AKA the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead,” the black-haired man nodded, his expression radiating boredom and apathy; “and Sekijiro Kan, better known as the Blood Hero: Vlad King.” The red-clad man crossed his arms and nodded to Gohan and Toshinori.

Gohan raised an eyebrow but bowed at the waist. “It is nice to meet you, sensei’s. I am Son Gohan, age 16. This will be my first time in a formal school environment. Please take excellent care of me.” He then looked back to Nezu. “What will be my other tests?”

“You’ll find out,” Nezu said, “as we get to them. For now, please follow Yamada-sensei to the first location.”

Gohan shrugged and gestured for the blonde man to lead the way. “After you, Yamada-sensei.” 

As they walked together, Present Mic peppered Gohan questions. “Where are you from? How did you meet Toshinori-san and Nezu-san? What do you think of the Hero Rankings?”

“I’m from an isolated part of the mountains, grew up in the middle of nowhere. I met Toshinori-san and Nezu-kouchou after an incident brought me to their attention. I don’t really think much of the Hero Rankings.”

Gohan’s last answer brought Present Mic up short. “What do you mean?”

“They don’t mean a lot, in the grand scheme of things. When Nezu-kouchou was introducing all of you, he mentioned your hero names.” Present Mic nodded, not knowing where this was going. “I’ve been helping train a kid who is taking the Entrance Exam tomorrow, and he’s a hero fanatic. Talks non-stop about heroes. He helped me look into the top heroes and most of them don’t impress me. I also had him help me look up the heroes who teach here, none of whom, outside of Toshinori-san, are in the top fifty hero rankings.” 

Gohan impressed Present Mic with his eloquence and foresight to look up his future teachers but the hero wanted to know if his reasoning stood up to his eloquence. “Go on.”

Gohan shrugged. “Well, looking at most of the staff here, they have a spotless record of heroics and are well known for going above and beyond the call of duty. You have your radio show, but you rarely tout your own hero work on that show, emphasizing the deeds that police, firefighters, and EMTs do across the nation. Eraserhead maintains his patrols in the poorest parts of town, even when he has a full class load, while Midnight and Vlad King volunteer as Quirk Counselors to orphanages across the city. These are all things that I would consider when making the Hero Rankings, but they are just afterthoughts. Comparing just the four of you to those in the Top Fifty, I would place the four of you in the top twenty, if not higher. And heroes,” Present Mic could hear the contempt dripping from Gohan’s voice at that word, “like Endeavor would never make it on the list.”

Gohan’s reasoning hit Present Mic like a brick, almost tripping over an uneven brick on the walkway as he listened to the younger man. “That’s what you really think? Endeavor has one of the highest solve rates of any hero in the country, though I’ll admit that his attitude could use some work.” 

Gohan paused on the walkway, turning to fully face the Voice Hero. “Endeavor only wants the title of being the strongest. From my experience, a hero is someone willing to sacrifice for the common good. That Toshinori is the Number One Hero is regardless of his strength, but instead, his heart and willingness to help anyone and everyone who needs it.” 

Present Mic could tell that this was the end of the discussion for Gohan, so he barreled on with his questions. “Why do you want to be a hero, Listener-san?” 

“My parents raised me to do everything I can to help the most people possible. Back home, that meant following in my father’s footsteps. Here, that means becoming a hero.”

Present Mic nodded to himself. “So, what’s your Quirk?” 

“Don’t have one. I’m a martial artist, trained from a very young age.” Gohan glanced down at the shorter man’s surprised look. “Don’t worry, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. What can you tell me about this test?” 

“Well, you’ll be facing various kinds of robots in an urban setting.” Present Mic pulled out a sheet of paper. “One type is worth a single point, another is worth two, and the third is worth three points. There is also a fourth robot worth zero points. You following me so far, Listener-san?” 

Gohan nodded. “Yeah, I follow. Break the robots, get points. Simple. What’s the time limit?” 

“Ten minutes from when I say go. The others will watch from the observation room.” 

“Last question: Does the city need to be standing at the end of this?” 

Present Mic blinked and looked up into the face of the younger man. “Yes. We have a lot of funding, but it isn’t unlimited. Besides, we use these training grounds for things other than the entrance exams and everyone else has to take the exam tomorrow.”

A smile played across Gohan’s face. “Good to know. Minimal collateral damage. See, that’s valuable information.” 

Present Mic nodded, concern emanating from him. 

They arrived at the gates of a training ground after a few minutes of quiet. Present Mic quietly spoke into a microphone attached to his sleeve before nodding and turning to face Gohan. 

“All right, Listener-san, it’s almost time to go! Anything you need?” 

Gohan shrugged off his backpack and handed it off to the older hero. “Just hold on to that. I need to return the books to the library when we finish up the testing.” 

Present Mic took the bag and gestured towards the open gates. “If you’re ready, GET GOING, LISTENER-SAN!!!” The Voice Hero shouted the last part through his speaker, helpfully (but unknowingly) directed away from Gohan’s sensitive ears. 

TEST NUMBER ONE

The tall Saiyan jogged through the gates, though it looked like a run to an outside observer. As Gohan entered the makeshift city, he saw four robots on the first street, three one-pointers and a pair of three-pointers. A negligent flick of his wrist and a small, invisible pulse of ki destroyed the one-pointers while he kicked through one three-pointer with enough force to launch shrapnel through the second large robot. Gohan raised an eyebrow at the robots. 

“You know, I knew the robots would be fragile. I didn’t think they’d be that fragile, though…” He shrugged. “Whatever.” The Saiyan continued blitzing through the course, destroying every robot that came near him. After a while, Gohan began to just use the invisible ki pulses to destroy the robots, a bored expression on his face.

A sudden rumbling stopped him. He looked up as he heard something hit a building and saw what could only be the zero-point robot that Present Mic had spoken about. A grin spread across the fighter’s face. Gohan launched himself into the air, soaring high above the robot. He raised his hands over his head, placing one palm over the other just above his forehead. A yellow sphere of light emitted from Gohan’s palm, hovering just over his spiky black hair. “Masenkooooo…” Gohan thrusted his hands forward, aiming at the boxy head of the massive robot. “HA!!!!!” 

A beam of yellow light screamed out of Gohan’s hand, blowing through the large robot and rocking the ground with an explosion that took out its tank-like treads. The robot teetered and fell, crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust. 

Gohan flew down to a nearby roof and took a seat. His sharp eyes spotted a single one-pointer that he had somehow missed on his run through the city. A small yellow ki blast solved that problem, just in time for a loud buzzer sound to ring out along with Present Mic’s voice. 

“AND THAT IS THE FINAL VILLIAN BOT! COME ON BACK TO THE BATTLEGROUND GATES, LISTENER-SAN!” 

Gohan grinned and flew over to the gates, touching down beside the blonde Pro Hero.

“How’d I do?”

Present Mic just stared at him. “Listener-san, I thought you said you didn’t have a quirk!? What do you call flying and shooting beams of light from your hands!?”

“Manipulation of life energy, called ki. Anyone can use it, given enough effort and practice.” Gohan looked down the road, seeing the small group of adults coming up the road. 

Present Mic grinned wildly, his mind racing. ‘This kid might just change the world with that kind of power and mindset.’

“How’d I do, Nezu-kouchou?” 

The unusual creature had a grin full of sharp teeth. Aizawa kept his face blank but the other three Pros had wide grins on their faces. 

“You did well, Young Gohan. Very well! You cleared the bots in record time and are the first to destroy the Zero Pointer robot in several years. If you were taking the standard first-year entrance exam, I would say that you were more than qualified to begin the heroics course!” 

“Qualified? He shattered course in a way that most of our graduates couldn’t,” grunted Sekijiro. “I can only think of a few heroes, all in the top hundred or working as Underground Heroes, who could do something like that in the time you took. Including taking out the Zero Pointer with minimal effort.” 

Gohan shrugged. “They were robots. They aren’t that big of a threat, really. If they were faster or used tactics, they might pose some kind of threat.” The young Saiyan looked over at Nezu. “So, what’s the next test, sensei?”

“Next is more… evasion-based. Aizawa-sensei,” Nezu gestured to the black-haired man beside him, “will administer this test. He will explain it on the way to your next exam site.” Aizawa began walking down the path without a word. Gohan rolled his eyes at Toshinori, getting a grin from the older hero, and followed the man. 

The pair of black-haired men strode purposefully down the walkway, neither exchanging a single word. They finally arrived at another enormous gate, similar to the gate they had just left. At the entrance of the gate, Aizawa turned to face Gohan. 

“This is your next test. Personally, I think this is a waste of everyone’s time.” Aizawa glared at Gohan, his black eyes turning ruby red as his hair floated. “If Nezu thinks you’re strong enough to blow through testing, then he should just get you into the licensure test. It is irrational to keep you tied down here at UA, even if you’re young. However, it is also illogical to treat you special, since you are just a student. Either way, I hate it.” 

Gohan continued to meet Aizawa’s gaze evenly, obviously unimpressed by the attempted dominance display. “I’m not here to for popularity. I’m just to become a hero, like anyone else. Age rarely means anything important, it is maturity that is important.” The Saiyan teen looked up at the gate. “So what is this test?”

Aizawa’s eyes returned to normal, his hair falling back in its normal limp state. “This is a set of exercises and then a final large-scale exercise.” Aizawa produced a ball with a band around it. “How far can you throw a ball without your Quirk?” 

Gohan blinked. “Without my Quirk? What do you mean?” 

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, an edge coming to his voice. “Your Quirk. The one that allows you to move the way you do and manipulate energy.” 

“Sensei, I don’t have a Quirk. I move the way I move and manipulate energy because of years of intensive training. I thought Nezu-kouchou told you about my circumstances…” Gohan furrowed the skin between his eyebrows. “I’m technically Quirkless. I’m… not from around here. I use energy called ki, life energy. I can’t just turn it off, I use it subconsciously in my muscles and bones.” 

Aizawa turned his eyes red again, his hair floating. “Try to float like you did during the last test.” 

Gohan shrugged, channeling his ki under his feet. The tall Saiyan floated above the concrete walkway. Aizawa’s eyes flickered back to black once again, a scowl on his face. He tossed the boy the striped ball. 

“Throw this as far as you can.” 

“Umm… ok.” Gohan looked down at the ball and back at Aizawa. He tossed the ball up and down in his hand for a moment, then turned to face away from Aizawa. Thinking back to the times that Yamcha taught him how to play baseball, Gohan set his feet and threw the ball as hard as he could. A windy backlash blew Aizawa’s limp hair back, his black eyes wide. “Um, you didn’t want that back, right?” 

“No, we have plenty.” Aizawa looked down at a screen he pulled from his pocket. He showed Gohan the screen. It had the infinity symbol under the heading ‘Distance Traveled.’ “The rest of this segment of the test is a series of exercises that you would have done in middle school. First is a fifty-meter dash.”

As Gohan went through the various exercises, Aizawa was becoming more amazed by the minute. This kid could run fifty meters in a literal blink of an eye, launch himself across a soccer field without breaking a sweat, make literal afterimages during the repeated side steps, and broke the grip machine with two fingers. 

“Gohan-san, why are you here as a student? In terms of sheer physical ability, you are head and shoulders ninety-nine percent of the heroes active in Japan today.” 

Gohan raised an eyebrow at the question. “I’m here to learn, sensei. I’m powerful, but that’s not the only thing that makes a hero. Nezu-kouchou seemed to think I could learn about the legal and non-physical aspects of being a hero while lending some of my experience to students. One reason that he wants me as a teaching assistant, not an actual student.” Gohan rolled a shoulder, stretching the joint. “What’s this last part of the exam?” 

“Simple.” Aizawa pushed open the gates they had been standing beside during the entire fitness test. “I give you a two-minute head start and then give chase. You must either evade me or capture me within ten minutes.” The older man tossed Gohan a roll of white tape. “Use this to show that you’ve captured me.”

“Fine,” Gohan said, slipping the tape into his pocket. “When do you want me to go in?” 

Aizawa gave the younger man a wide toothy grin. “Now.” 

TEST NUMBER TWO

Gohan blurred away, shooting through the open gate. He darted down several alleyways and jumped to the top of a nearby building. The young Saiyan waited for a couple of moments, listening to the silent urban landscape. His head jerked to one side as a gentle scuff sounded off the roof behind him. Gohan jumped to the side, dodging a spear of red liquid, a grin spreading across Gohan’s face. 

“So that’s the deception that Aizawa-sensei likes so much, huh?” Gohan lunged at the red-clad figure that appeared in front of him. “I’m not just fighting him, I’m fighting all of you.”

“He likes his mind games,” the red-clad figure said as he dodged Gohan’s opening salvo, ducking under the last kick. The gray-haired man threw out his own punches, growling as he missed every attempt. “I am the Blood Hero: Vlad King! You’ll find that I’m a lot harder to put down than those robots from earlier!” 

“I hope so.” Gohan flickered out of Vlad’s sight, but no immediate attack came at the Blood Hero. Vlad looked around, finally spotting Gohan standing cross-armed a few feet behind him. “Though this is getting a little boring if one of us doesn’t do something interesting soon.” 

Vlad growled and began throwing rapid-fire punches, lashing out with short red spears at irregular intervals. Gohan dodged languidly, side stepping the spears while pushing aside the punches. 

“I know that Midnight is standing on a roof two buildings over and Yamada-sensei is with Aizawa-sensei three streets over, ready for me to jump down into a nearby alley. So why did they send you out as the opener?”

Vlad grunted and sped up his punches, tossing in a few attempts at grappling at the same time. He waited for the boy to push aside another punch, then emitted a wave of red liquid that captured his opponent’s forearm. “Because I’m physically the strongest! Midnight-san! Now!” 

The woman darted over from her rooftop, tearing a section of her sheer sleeve off to emit a purple smoke directed at Gohan. The Saiyan held his breath the moment she moved from her rooftop perch, surprising the Blood Hero by swinging him at the approaching woman. The sudden motion took him off his feet, Gohan using him as a flail against his comrade, smacking the slim brunette off the roof he occupied. The swing had the secondary effect of blowing Midnight’s sleeping gas away from him. “You should have considered if you were physically stronger than your opponent.”

A swift strike from the young Saiyan shattered the hardened liquid connecting Vlad to his arm, forcing the red-clad hero to catch himself before Gohan used a front kick to knock Vlad off the roof. He leapt across to the next roof where Midnight was trying to stand. Gohan wrapped a length of the white capture tape around Midnight’s wrist before she could stand up. A blast of a horn echoed across the arena, signaling that she was out of the fight. 

Gohan backflipped off the roof, aiming for the woozy Vlad King laying on the fire escape. The young Saiyan checked him over for injuries, then wrapped another length of capture tape on his wrist. Another horn blast echoed in the distance.

“There’s two down, at least two to go. Sorry, senseis’, I gotta go. Talk later!” With that, Gohan jumped backwards, planting a foot on the rail of the fire escape to push off towards Yamada and Aizawa. 

“How do you think he faired against Vlad and Midnight? He did really well against the robots, but people are a lot different.” Present Mic hunkered down beside Aizawa, the pair observing the rooftops for any sign of Gohan or their comrades jumping off to escape trouble. A pair of horn blasts caught their attention and Aizawa grimaced.

“He got the two of them. Those two had an excellent chance of taking him down, since he knew nothing about their Quirks. I’m going to go scout, see if I can find him.” 

Aizawa jumped away, using his capture scarf to swing around the corner away from Present Mic.

A voice came from behind the Voice Hero. “Hey, how’s it going?” 

“Pretty good. We’re just waiting for the kid to come by so we can surprise him,” Present Mic said with his eyes glued to the rooftops. 

“Neat.” The voice had a laconic drawl to it.

“Yeah,” Present Mic said, “he’ll never see it com…ing… oh.” 

An explosion launched the blonde hero out of the alley into the principal street. He coughed, the thick smoke choking him while he lay on the ground. The Voice Hero could hear an amused voice coming from the smoke. 

“Looks like that even works on heroes. Good to know.” 

Present Mic propped himself on his elbows, watching Gohan saunter out of the destroyed alley with a smirk playing across his lips. 

“Aizawa-sensei, I hope you weren’t planning for me to do that to Yamada-sensei.” The younger man tilted his head out of the way of a gray scarf that came slicing down. “That would just be cold, using your best friend as bait. Not to mention it didn’t work, which has to just add salt to that wound.” He grabbed the scarf, pulling as he spun on his heels in a tight circle, whipping Aizawa around him to throw him into the prone Present Mic. 

“Eraser Head, how do we keep getting into these situations?” 

Aizawa groaned from his place on top of Present Mic. “Fifteen years of friendship and I still don’t know.” He looked down at his wrist, which sported a brand-new capture tape bracelet. “And we lost.” The black-haired hero laid his head back on Present Mic’s shoulder. “You pass, Son-san. Go back to the entrance to Nezu to get the information for your last test. I’m going to take a nap.” 

Gohan chuckled and started walking towards the entrance. He had one last test to complete.

MEANWHILE, DURING TEST TWO

Toshinori and Nezu sat on a pair of chairs at the entrance of the urban battleground, a stand filled with screens in front of them. “Toshinori-kun, how has your successor been coming along with Young Gohan helping,” Nezu questioned, his eyes trained on the screen showing Gohan engaged in combat with Vlad King.

“He’s doing well,” Toshinori said while he continued to watch. “Young Gohan helped to change my original plan for Young Midoriya, adding some basic fight training that I was remiss in not including originally.” 

Nezu hummed in acknowledgement, wincing at the last kick that knocked Vlad King off the roof. “I have some concerns in how he will be received by the upperclassmen. Aside from the Big Three, many of our hero course upperclassmen are rather… full of themselves. Presenting someone younger to be an authority figure will be a challenge for them to accept.” 

Toshinori snorted, holding back a laugh as Gohan surprised Present Mic. “Have anyone who objects fight Young Gohan. If they have trouble accepting that age is only a number, they will not go far in our field. It might be better to have that attitude beat out them here rather than risk their deaths on the outside world.” 

Nezu glanced over at Toshinori, a grin slowly spreading over his face. “I had a similar thought, especially after this display. I’ll wait until after his last test to make my decision.” 

Toshinori coughed violently into a handkerchief, wiping away stray blood droplets. “What is his last test?” The grin that crossed the small mammal’s face unsettled him. 

“How much hero work have you done today?” 

Toshinori raised his eyebrows in surprise. “None. Every call this morning that I saw was already being taken care of effectively.” He looked back at the screen for a second, his eyebrows shooting up as two more blasts of the horn went off. “Wait. Why?”

“I’d like to have him fight you.” 

Toshinori coughed in surprise, splattering his fist with speckles of blood. 

“Me?!? Why me? Isn’t that a little much for an entrance exam?” 

Nezu shrugged. 

“One would think so, yes. However, his acceptance is not predicated upon defeating you. I would like for you to push him as far as you can in the allowed time-span. Let’s say five minutes, shall we?” 

Toshinori stared at Nezu, his electric blue eyes glinting harshly in the daylight. The pair maintained eye contact for several seconds, expressions blank, before the emaciated blonde broke the stalemate, looking at the ground with a grimace. He raised his head to look back at the small principal.

“Fine. On one condition.” 

Nezu raised an eyebrow and waited patiently. “Yes?”

“If he has a good enough display against me, you will pull some strings to have him take the provisional license exam coming up in April.”

Nezu stared into the intense eyes of his newest teacher, his expression blank. After a moment, a massive grin burst across his face. “Of course, Toshinori-kun. He has truly impressed you, hasn’t he? What is it that makes you trust him so much?”

Toshinori turned his face up to stare at the sky. “Have you ever been around a person whose sole motivation is to help others?” 

Nezu tilted his head. “Among humans, no. Even you, the one who embodies the spirit of heroics, has other motivations, few that they may be. True selflessness is not a trait that I particularly associate with humans.” 

Toshinori nodded. “True, humans have a habit of being fickle and complex, driven by many motivations. However, Young Gohan seems motivated entirely by his desire to help others. He has even helped me, reminding me that in my zeal to stop crimes, I am doing a disservice to the world and my fellow heroes.” 

“How so?”

“As Gohan put it,” Toshinori drawled, his gaze still locked on the sky, “I was taking the entire burden of the world on my shoulders even though I know that I will not be there forever. I only have to access my powers for a few hours a day, therefore I have a responsibility to make sure I don’t waste that time with problems that others can deal handle. As the Number One Hero, if I waste my time with minor robberies and thugs, then I may not have the time to spare if something major happens that others cannot handle.” Toshinori sighed, looking down to see Gohan walking up the path toward them. “Even worse, I was creating a dependence upon me and projecting that dependence upon Young Midoriya. Even though he hasn’t taken my power yet, I can see the future weighing on him in a way that it did not weigh on me for many years into my service as a hero. If not for Young Gohan’s guidance, I would be fearful of Young Midoriya’s future wellbeing if that prediction came to pass. I now know that no matter what happens to me, there will be someone to be a rock for the world to rely upon.” 

Nezu stared at the young Saiyan walking up the path to them, looking utterly unruffled even after engaging four powerful Pro Heroes. “Toshinori-kun, are you saying that Young Gohan is to be the new Symbol of Peace rather than your successor?”

The emaciated blonde shook his head, a smile flickering across his thin lips. “Oh no, Midoriya will be the next Symbol of Peace. I’m certain of that. I believe that Gohan shall be revered as the pinnacle of Justice and Hope, the true embodiment of heroics. He is a bright spotlight for future heroes to follow.”

Gohan strode up to the two older heroes sitting behind a set of screens. He met the intense blue eyes of Toshinori over the top of the screens while he walked, giving the emaciated man a grin as he approached, giving the emaciated blonde a confident grin. 

“Young Gohan,” Nezu said with a wide grin. “You passed with flying colors! Although I expect Aizawa-kun to dock you points for not ending the encounter as soon as possible.” 

Gohan shrugged. “If I ended it immediately, you never would have gotten to see my abilities, which defeats the purpose of the test. Besides, isn’t the unspoken part of this test checking if I can draw back my power enough to train students?” Nezu’s grin grew, signaling to Gohan that his guess had been correct. “So, what is this last test?”

Toshinori stood up from his seat to look Gohan in the eye, his form bulking to full-size. “A one-on-one battle with me! Five minutes, no boundaries, the only restrictions are no killing or permanent injuries!”

The young Saiyan felt his mouth stretch into a grin. While he was not as battle-crazy as his father, Gohan enjoyed testing his limits. And All Might was definitely THE challenge on Earth. 

“All right, Toshinori-san, when and where?” 

“We’re going out to where you first arrived! Seems fitting to have your last exam in the same place that you entered to our dimension! Meet me there in an hour!” Toshinori shrunk down to his skinny form, handing Gohan a folded stack of bills. “Go grab lunch and we’ll see you there.” 

Gohan launched himself into the air, speeding out of the visual range of the two older Pro Heroes. Nezu glanced over at Toshinori. 

“Did you ever discover exactly where he has been living since he arrived here? And how he has been making money?” 

The emaciated blonde shook his head with a sigh. “No. Unfortunately, he always disappears at the end of his sessions with Young Midoriya. He always knows when I’m at the end of my time limit and makes sure he only disappears when I can’t follow. I’m sure he would answer if you asked, sir.” 

Nezu shook his head. “I highly doubt it. I’ve only spoken to him a few times, while you have built a significant rapport with him. Perhaps if you ask him during your spar, he might be more inclined to answer.” 

Toshinori nodded as he stood, stretching his long limbs across his emaciated torso. “I can try, Nezu-san.” The lanky blonde motioned towards the main building. “Shall we grab some lunch before this last test?” 

Nezu nodded with a smile, hopping down from his chair. “Of course, old friend. Lunch Rush should have something nice for us today.” 

Gohan looked around the cleared land surrounding the crater that his pod had created half a year ago. He could feel the miniscule ki of the many creatures that occupied the area along with the few humans who were walking the nearby trails. As much as Gohan would like to just let the animals stay where they were, they would be in danger from the aftermath of the upcoming spar, as were the humans nearby. A quick burst of intent-filled ki caused all the nearby wildlife to scatter. The humans walked a little faster, their ki spiking slightly in a fear response to Gohan’s negative intent. 

Gohan took off his backpack and set it aside as he stretched. He shadowboxed, throwing kicks and punches in increasingly complex combinations. After several minutes of warming up, he could feel the dense ki of Toshinori approaching. It always fascinated Gohan, the ki of the Number One Hero, as it held a strange quality compared to everyone else. Gohan could get a general sense of what Quirk people held based on the feeling of their ki signatures, such as an intense heat from Endeavor the one time that the Number Two Hero had chased a villain near Dagobah Beach. Toshinori, though, felt as if there were multiple Quirks stacked on top of one another. The Quirk almost felt… clumped, like it was a collective instead of a distinct individual. It was none of the young Saiyan’s business, so he never pressed the issue with the older man and just continued to analyze the odd phenomena silently. 

Toshinori landed in the center of the clearing, his muscular form clad in a tight red and white spandex suit while a blue cape flapped behind him. Nezu was riding his shoulder, clutching the cape tightly with one hand. The taller hero reached up to allow Nezu to step on his massive palm, bending down to place the small Headmaster on the ground. All Might stood, his trademarked grin splitting his face. 

“Young Gohan! Are you prepared to battle for your last test? For I am here!” 

Gohan gave the older man a wide grin. “How far do you want to push this? Usually I’d start slow, but I know you have a hard time limit.” 

All Might laughed, his hands on his hips. “I want to see your full strength, Young Gohan! Nezu-sama will record us so that my colleagues can review your performance! Are you ready, sir?” 

Nezu had somehow climbed up a nearby tree and wedge himself into a corner of several branches. He gave the pair a thumbs up with one hand while the other held a small video camera. “I am ready when you are!” 

All Might looked over at Gohan and gave him a thumbs up. The teen grinned at him and balled his hands into fists. He had a look of concentration on his face before giving a loud shout. A burst of wind erupted from around Gohan, bending some smaller trees nearby with the force of the wind. The teen’s black hair waved in the wind, the color suddenly changing to a deep yellow-gold color while his eyes flickered to a teal color. All Might could feel the power emanating from Gohan until the teen reigned in his powerful aura. 

“Is this far enough, All Might-sensei, or should I take it to the next level?” Gohan grinned at the look on All Might’s face in response to his transformation. 

“Next level?” The massive blonde struck a heroic pose, his grin splitting his face. “That means I won’t need to hold back!” 

Gohan concentrated again, focusing on the well of power within him. A shout of effort blew another gust of wind, this one bending every tree around the open field, as his golden hair grew longer and spikier. A golden aura surrounded Gohan while sparks flickered around his body, his hair moving in an ethereal wind while his muscles bulged. The teen took a fighting stance opposite of the Number One Hero. “I’m ready when you are, All Might.”

The large blonde hero shouted, “I am here… TO BATTLE! BEGIN!” With that, All Might sprinted at Gohan and threw a massive haymaker at the younger man. A burst of wind followed the lunging attack, battering Gohan even before the physical strike landed. 

Gohan blocked the opening attack, maintaining his block through the lightning fast follow-ups. He shifted left, pushing the last punch away and forcing All Might off balance. He followed up with a straight punch to All Might’s cheek, knocking the larger blonde into the ground. Gohan pursued the larger blonde, not allowing him to recover his bearings before launching into a series of punches.

All Might took the punches for a moment before rolling to the side, dodging an axe kick that split the ground where he landed. “Young Gohan, you are truly a powerful fighter!” All Might drew on the memories of his time training with Gran Torino, tightening his stance and throwing less linear punches at his opponent. “How has Young Midoriya’s training been coming along?”

Gohan smiled as the large blonde suddenly changed up his fighting style, throwing punches with far less telegraphing. “It has been going well. Izuku has little to no talent for martial arts, but he has grit and work ethic. That is far more important!” The smaller blonde grunted as All Might landed a straight punch to his floating rib followed by a jab to his jaw. 

The large blonde threw another haymaker at Gohan, his grin getting wider as the younger man dodged his punch. All Might paid for his lapse in concentration as Gohan kicked him in the head. The large blonde tanked the hit so he could land a shot in Gohan’s gut, launching the smaller blonde through several trees. “I noticed that his habit for overdoing his exercises has stopped! I take it I have you to thank for that?”

Gohan laughed as he got to his feet, trees falling around him. “Don’t tell me that’s your best shot, All Might? But now I know you can take a hit, at least!” That said, Gohan launched himself back into the fight, kicking All Might up into the air. The young Saiyan boots the larger blonde further skyward, using his speed to disappear and reappear behind the Number One Hero. Gohan slammed a hammer blow down on the rising hero, rocketing him down to the ground into a gigantic crater. “And yes, I stopped his habit of overworking. I literally trained him to where he couldn’t move for a day to get it through his head that it was doing more harm than good.”

All Might shook his head as he pushed himself out of the crater. That last shot had rattled his senses in a way that hadn’t happened in years. Not since his fight with All For One. The blonde hero looked up at his friend, floating with his arms crossed, and gave him a wide grin. “It’s time to declare that…” All Might disappeared mid-sentence, reappearing behind Gohan and hitting him with a massive fist. He launched Gohan at the ground, landing in the same crater All Might had just occupied. “I AM HERE!” 

Nezu watched Gohan climb out of the hole to All Might and the blondes exchanged blows faster than the small mammal could see. Nezu had been around for quite a while and had been a new teacher at UA when All Might was a student. He could remember the spars between Gran Torino and a young Toshinori, the vicious affairs that they were, and this was on par with some of those battles. Nezu monitored a timer counting down in the recording's corner screen. The pair had been fighting for just over two minutes, both sides sending only probing strikes against the other. Nezu knew that the two fighters would get serious in the next exchange, so he wiggled his body a little more securely into the crook of his branch. 

All Might and Gohan simultaneously threw identical punches, though only Gohan’s landed: the young Saiyan had taken advantage of his more compact build to duck under All Might’s punch while changing his own haymaker into a forward jab into the hero’s gut. All Might folded over the strike, using the momentum from the movement to attempt a grapple on Gohan. Gohan used a small ki blast to knock All Might backwards far enough to avoid being grappled, then spun into a roundhouse kick against the hero’s jaw. “So ask what you really want to ask, All Might-san.”

All Might spun with the force of the hit, landing in a crouch on the ground. The smiling hero leaped back up at his opponent with a grunt, throwing a faster-than-lightning punch at Gohan. Gohan executed a picture-perfect block nudging the strike just left of the teen, opening All Might to a counterattack that knocked the large man back. All Might held his ribs with one hand while he fended off the follow-up strikes with his other hand. “All right. Where have you been living, Young Gohan?” A missed block allowed Gohan to land a side thrust kick to All Might’s stomach.

Gohan pressed his advantage, raining furious blows down on the hero. A quick bob left and a duck forced All Might to miss his own counterattack, the wind from his powerful blow ruffling Gohan’s spiky hair. The Saiyan warrior took advantage of the overreach and used a powerful axe kick to drive All Might into another crater in the ground. “Homeless? My home has been out here, in the forest.”

All Might grabbed a small boulder out of the ground where he landed, throwing it at Gohan. A yellow ki blast blew up the boulder, a second blast following to knock All Might back into the small crater. “I’m not an enormous fan of living in the city, too many people. Out here is more comfortable for me.”

All Might launched himself up at the younger man, landing a kick on Gohan’s shoulder. He caught the muscular blonde by the ankle before he could fly away from the hero, swinging him around and throwing him into the crater that All Might had previously occupied. “Ah! I understand, Young Gohan! I only ask that you keep myself or the school apprised of your living situation!”

Gohan nodded as he climbed out of the crater. He disappeared again, reappearing above All Might. The young Saiyan drove his heels down into the crown of an unsuspecting All Might’s skull, launching him down to the ground. The older hero caught himself, rolling to disperse the impact and coming back up on his fingertips and toes, ready to get back into the fight. 

“TIME!” Nezu shouted from his perch. Gohan and All Might looked over at the principal, confused. 

“Already? Hah!” All Might stood up and looked at Gohan. “Young Gohan, you are a fearsome opponent! Perhaps I need to spar with you more often! I believe that I have been remiss in keeping up with the more technical aspects of my martial training!” 

Gohan laughed as he floated down to the ground beside All Might. “I’d like that. I noticed that you were getting better the longer we went. I wasn’t sure I would find anyone I could use as a proper sparring partner after the Kai left me here.” 

“Why?” Nezu piped up as he came up to the pair. “There are many martial artists and powerful heroes across the planet here, you must have read about them or heard about them.” 

Gohan shrugged. “Honestly? Most of the martial artists that I’ve found here are… rudimentary at bet. I investigated some rumors, but they were mostly just that: rumors. No one seems to have taken their art to the next level.” 

“Perhaps,” Toshinori said, “you can do that after you are an established hero. Teach your art and show that there are higher heights to reach.”

Gohan smiled at the hero. “That’s not a terrible idea. Teaching Midoriya has been interesting, so it could be a wonderful side project. Thank you.” The Saiyan bowed to his elder before facing Nezu, his blonde hair and teal eyes fading back to their usual ebony. “So, Nezu-kouchou, did I pass my exams?” 

Nezu gave him a smile full of sharp teeth before answering, one matched by the blinding smile of a newly buff All Might. “Oh, yes. You have most certainly earned your place at UA! UA will be your Hero Academia!”

Gohan grinned and momentarily basked in the glowing approval of his new boss and teacher/colleague.


	4. First Day at UA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gohan's first classes at UA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this chapter taking so long to come out. I had a lot of issues with some of this chapter along with school starting back up (teaching, not taking classes) and that ate a lot of time. It also hasn't been looked over by my normal beta, so if it seems a little less polished, that's why.

##  ** Chapter 4 **

As students trickled into UA’s campus for the first day of the new school year, most were ignorant of the eyes that continuously watched them from the second they walked through the gates until the instant they left. Many of those eyes were mechanical, cameras, and sensors installed by Nezu to monitor the campus. Several dozen students had realized that there were eyes on them, a raw instinct prickling the back of their necks and an awareness that eyes were upon them. 

One set of eyes remained overlooked by everyone on campus. Hundreds of yards over UA, a singular figure floated in a cross-legged position, eyes closed. The figure wore a deep blue button-down shirt and black slacks while a brown monkey-like tail waved behind them. The figure sat in a meditation pose as yellowish energy surrounded their body, fluctuating gently as the wind blew over the figure. 

A chime shattered the silent atmosphere. The figure fished a phone from his pocket, holding it up to their ear. 

“It’s time, Young Gohan. Come to meet your students.”

The figure opened his eyes and muttered into the phone’s receiver. “Toshinori-san. I’ll be down in a moment.” With that, Gohan released his concentration on flying, dropping out of the sky with nary a whisper. He oriented his body to face the rapidly approaching ground, aiming for the roof of the central building. Just as he was about to slam face-first into the roof, the young Saiyan flipped over and halted his momentum completely, gently floating the last couple of inches down to the rooftop. A choking sound came from behind him, prompting the young Saiyan to turn and look. 

A man stood there, wearing a large-brimmed brown hat and a tan gas mask hung from his neck, a pale cigarette hanging from his lips. A red cloak covered most of his body, save for the gray knee-high boots. Obviously, this was one of the Pro Hero teachers, just not one that Gohan had met before.

“Boy, you’re crazier than a damned loon! The hell you thinking, dropping out the sky like that?!” 

“Good morning, sensei. It’s really not that dangerous when you know what you’re doing.” Gohan held out a hand to the older man. “My name is Son Gohan. I am the new teaching assistant.” 

The older man reached out from under his cloak, exposing a gun holstered on his hip, to shake hands. “Howdy, I’m Snipe. I’ve heard about you from Shouta and Hizashi, they think you’re hot shit. I look forward to seeing you in action down the line.” 

Gohan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at the implied praise. “Thank you. I’m supposed to meet Toshinori-san for the opening assembly soon. Can you direct me to the assembly hall?” 

Snipe nodded, dropping his cigarette and stepping on the lit end. “Here, Son. This way. I’m headed that way myself.” 

Gohan followed the oddly dressed hero (he thought Snipe resembled something that Midoriya had mentioned: cowpeople or something?) through the massive building. Snipe pointed out important locations that Gohan would need over the course of the school year: the library, the teacher’s workroom, two different teacher lounges, the rooms for the General Studies students. 

“Snipe-sensei?” The older hero paused his running commentary, tilting his masked head questioningly. “Who does physical training for the General Education students? I read in the handbook that it’s possible for General Education students to transfer to the Hero Course if they manage a strong enough showing in the Sports Festivals.” 

“True, though that’s not something that we advertise to the students. It’s more of a thing that students seek only if they’re motivated enough to switch courses.” 

Gohan frowned. 

“But what if someone doesn’t have a Quirk? Or if their Quirk doesn’t work on those robots you use for the tests? Doesn’t that discriminate against them to not even tell them they have a chance of making it to the Hero Course?” 

Snipe lowered his head a little, contemplating. 

“I’ll admit, it ain’t always sat right with some staff that the Entrance Exam was so heavily skewed to those with physical Quirks. Especially folk like Aizawa who had to use that Sports Festival loophole to become a Hero. But it’s one of those things we ain’t got much of a choice in, the Hero Commission regulates our Exam and the government.” The hero shrugged helplessly. “Unless something changes, that’s just the way it is. If you want to run an after-hours course for General Education students, that’s something you could do.”

“I think I will,” Gohan said. The pair continued down the hall, eventually reaching the back entrance of the auditorium where Toshinori stood waiting for them. 

“Young Gohan! Good morning! You were almost late. Not that I can say a lot about that particular fault.” 

Gohan chuckled. He remembered the many times over the past few months when Toshinori arrived late for lunch or a training session with Midoriya because of his hero work. “True, Toshinori-san. Snipe-sensei was just showing me around the school for a moment, pointing out the important places I will need to know about.” The young Saiyan peaked around the corner of the curtain that covered the area behind stage where he stood. There were over two hundred students sitting in the auditorium, softly chatting with one another while they waited. 

“Have you come up with your hero name yet, Young Gohan?” Toshinori spoke up as Gohan looked around the curtain. “Nezu requested that you have some idea by today.” 

“I have one or two ideas, but nothing solid.”

“Are you ready, Gohan-kun?” The young Saiyan looked back and saw Nezu standing beside Toshinori. Gohan bowed to the principal.

“Nezu-kouchou. What am I expected to say to the students?”

“Not a lot. Just a basic introduction where you talk about what you’ll be doing here at UA and about you as a person. Nothing special.” 

Gohan nodded, stepping back from the curtain to wait his turn. Various teachers walked past him as Nezu called their names, slowly leaving him alone behind the stage. He could hear the small principal speak about the expectations of the individual courses and the expectations of the staff. He heard his name called and knew that it was his cue. He strode out to the stage, a slight smile on his face to mask his nerves.

“Hello, students. As Principal Nezu said, I am Son Gohan and I will work primarily with the Hero Courses as a teaching assistant. I primarily focus on hand-to-hand combat, along with some specialty work in energy manipulation and emotional control. However, I would like to say that any General Studies, Support, or Business Course students would like to take part in combat training after school, I would be happy to provide that. Even if you have no previous experience in combat or exercising, I will be available to help you.” Gohan bowed to the students and stepped back to stand in line with the other teachers. All Might reached behind the line of teachers and gave Gohan a thumbs up. 

Nezu stepped back to the podium and told the students to follow their homeroom teachers back to their individual classrooms. The homeroom teachers on stage filed out to take charge of their homerooms, going backward from Class 3A to the last of the first year Business Course students. Gohan noticed a gap in the homerooms as the first years left. 

“Nezu-kouchou, where are Aizawa and Class 1A? I just realized that I haven’t seen them yet.” 

The inscrutable creature smiled up at Gohan. “Oh, Aizawa famously never comes to the orientation ceremony. He always takes his class for a Quirk Assessment test, something that Kan leaves off until the beginning of the second day. I would recommend beginning with Class 1B, allow Aizawa his time to bond with his class.” Nezu gestured for Gohan to follow him. “I wanted to ask you about your offer to give combat lessons to the non-Hero courses, specifically why you offered it.”

Gohan silently walked beside the small mammal, his gaze locked on the floor. Nezu allowed him time to collect his thoughts, the pair walking through the halls in silence. “I was speaking with Snipe-sensei this morning as I came down to the auditorium, learning more about the various courses you have available here. I mentioned the loophole that existed where a student from any course could attempt to transfer into the Hero Course if they made a good enough showing at the Sports Festival and Snipe said that it was something the staff didn’t advertise to the non-Hero Course students.” 

Nezu nodded. “Yes. In the past, disclosing this has often been seen as a way of falsely raising hope for students who have a minimal chance to make it into the Hero Course. Some teachers have argued for telling students who attempted to get in via the Hero Entrance Exam, but that has never gained enough traction to make a difference.” 

“That was the impression I had from talking to Snipe-sensei this morning. However, if that loophole still exists, it means that the school recognizes that there are aspects of the Entrance Exam that are unfair or that room for growth exists after failure. But it makes no sense to even offer that path if there is no one willing to give them combat training so they can actually make a good showing.” 

Nezu hummed, his tone carefully neutral. “And you would like to offer that training? What if one of them turns against society after your training?”

“And what if they don’t? What if one of them could become a hero to inspire others, someone who will save countless lives, but they never get there because no one gave them the skills with which to do so?” Gohan turned his fathomless black eyes on Nezu. The principal could feel the intensity of the gaze and had to repress his animalistic instinct to hide from the powerful gaze. “Even if they never become heroes, martial arts are a method of control for those who cannot control themselves or need balance.” Gohan’s eyes hardened. “And I will not stand to see innocents hurt. If one of my students uses my teachings to hurt innocents, I will stop them. Personally.” 

Nezu hid the shiver that went down his spine at Gohan’s declaration. After seeing his display against All Might and his teaching staff, the small animal was certain that anyone who crossed this young man would quickly, and briefly, regret it. He stopped in front of a classroom door. 

“Here is Class 1B’s classroom. I leave you to begin your first lesson, Young Gohan.”

The small mammal gave Gohan a wave and walked off down the hall. Gohan turned to face the sliding door of the classroom, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It was time to go to work. 

Class 1B sat at their desks, chatting with one another quietly while their homeroom teacher, Vlad King, sat at his desk up front. Only a few students took notice of the door sliding open and a large figure standing in the opening. Vlad King glanced up, nodded, and stood, gaining the attention of his class. 

“Class, turn to the front. This is your teaching assistant, Son Gohan. He is in charge of your unarmed combat training, though he will help in other areas if necessary. Son-san, introduce yourself.” 

Gohan nodded to Vlad, turning to face the class. “Good morning. As your teacher said, my name is Son Gohan. As Vlad-sensei said, I will train you in unarmed combat, no matter if you are a beginner or have been training for years. I am also a specialist in energy control and emission, so I can also help with those who have emitter Quirks.” 

A boy in the back of the room with blades coming out of his cheeks spoke up, interrupting Gohan. “What’s your hero name? I’ve never seen you on any of the hero sites!” 

Gohan blinked and tilted his head. “That would be because I’m not a Pro Hero, Togaru-san. Not yet, anyway.” 

Another boy, a blonde in the center of the room, snorted. “Then why should we listen to you? We’re here to become heroes, trained by the best to be the best. And you’re just some nobody.” 

Vlad stood up to berate the boy but stopped at Gohan’s raised hand. Gohan could see that several students, mostly boys, agreed with the blonde boy while most of the girls looked scandalized that he was so disrespectful. “Your name is Monoma Neito, correct? Quirk: Copy?” 

The boy nodded, a cocky smirk firmly affixed to his face. 

“Very well. Everyone, go get dressed out in your PE uniforms and meet me at the athletic field in ten minutes.” Gohan nodded to Vlad. Vlad, fighting the urge to cackle at his class, nodded back and motioned for the students to follow him. Gohan, to the class’s confusion, disappeared the moment they looked away from him. 

Class 1B swaggered out to the athletic fields, everyone chatting about the new teacher. 

“Gotta say, he’s cute,” said a green-haired girl with sharp teeth. “And he looks pretty close to our age, maybe a year out of high school.” 

“He’s probably just a washout,” groused the bladed boy. “I ain’t come here to be taught by no scrubs.” 

A taller student with furry arms and glasses spoke up, irritation coloring his tone. “Whatever your opinion, Togaru-san, he is still our teacher and thus demands our respect. Your tone is entirely uncalled for.” 

The bladed boy raised his arm to swipe at the furred boy, only stopping at a firm look from Vlad King. “Hn. Whatever. This guy is just gonna be a waste of time. Mark my words.” With that, he walked faster to get away from the other students. 

Gohan was in the center of the athletic field, wearing a purple gi with a deep ‘V’ in front, a brown fuzzy belt, and red shoes. Vlad pointed the class towards him but stayed back to allow Gohan to run the class. The class stood in a semi-circle around Gohan, the silence of the field almost oppressively heavy. Finally, Togaru snapped. 

“What the fuck are we doing out here!?!” 

Gohan turned his head, looking over at the class. “All of you are going to fight me at the same time.” Several students flinched at the hard look in the young Saiyan’s black eyes, shying away from the tall man. Others immediately began protesting.

“Sir,” the furry young man protested, “that seems quite unfair! You would be at a massive disadvantage!” 

“Sensei, it’s the first day! Why would we fight with you?” An orange-haired girl piped up from the middle of the group. Several around her nodded in agreement. “Shouldn’t we be doing some kind of assessment for you to know where we are now?”

Gohan smiled at the young woman. “That is exactly what I intend. The best way to assess your combat capabilities is to demonstrate them. Also, several of your classmates seem to doubt my qualifications to teach you combat. I thought this might put their minds at ease.” 

Togaru, along with several others, looked excited. “Hell yes! Let’s go!” 

Gohan turned the rest of the way, facing the center of the semi-circle. “What are you waiting for?” He waited a few moments, his neutral expression transforming into a frown. “Well, if you won’t attack,” Gohan disappeared from the student’s sight and reappeared in the center of the group, “THEN I WILL!” 

Gohan spun in a tight circle, kicking the surrounding students into one another. Togaru reacted first, extending a blade from his hand as he threw a punch at the black-haired Saiyan. Gohan grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled him into an elbow to the stomach, flickering away before the boy could blink. 

Togaru, trying desperately to take a breath, watched as the man he called a waste of time tore through his class like paper. Nothing anyone did seemed to do anything to him. One guy, Juzo, tried to soften the ground and trap him, only to discover that the man could fucking fly! Another student, the weird religious girl, shot a bunch of vines at him. He walked out of the trap, a bored expression on his face, to flick her in the forehead and send her tumbling head-over-heels.

The orange-haired girl and the furry guy who berated him earlier gave the best showing so far, coordinating with one another to box in their teacher. 

Gohan languidly avoided every strike from the two students, a small smile on his face while he moved. The furry student suddenly bulked up and started moving faster, furiously clawing at Gohan. The half-Saiyan stopped his backward movement, standing his ground in the face of the berserker attack. The student (Jurota Shishida, if Gohan’s memory held true) pressed his attack, aiming for joints and other soft targets. 

Gohan remembered his father’s first meeting with Trunks and the impression he made on all the Z Fighters, blocking his sword with a single finger. Raising a single finger, he blocked the claws of his students effortlessly while giving no ground.

Itsuka Kendo knew that this entire exercise was futile with the opening move. She had grown up surrounded by some of the best martial artists in the world, and this man made them all look like amateurs. Every move was smooth and calculated, with no wasted motions that Kendo could pick out. Even when he just stood still to block Shishida-san’s attacks, she could tell that he was tracking every person on the field and ready for any attack. Kendo also knew from her strikes setting up Shishida’s attack that Son-sensei could just dodge everything she threw at him. Kendo stopped attacking and moved back toward Kan-sensei, bowing out of the exchange entirely. 

Gohan noticed Kendo moving back and disengaging, a point in her favor to his mind. If lives were not on the line, it was perfectly acceptable to retreat. He quickly put down the rampaging Shishida with a single chop to the back of his neck. Gohan looked around the field, seeing everyone either on the ground, incapacitated, or both. 

He stepped to the side as a fist came slamming down where his head had just been. A quick glance up revealed a group of dismembered body parts floating in the sky, the result of Togake Setsuna's Quirk: Lizard Tail Splitter. Setsuna launched her dismembered feet and hands at Gohan at high speeds, hoping to catch him off guard with her disconcerting Quirk. Gohan raised a hand and let loose an invisible pulse of ki, knocking her out of the sky. 

Kan laughed as he watched Gohan take apart his class like they were a bunch of toddlers. It made him feel better about his own performance against Gohan in the boy’s exams. Kendo gave him a curious look from where she had stepped back.

“Vlad-sensei, why isn’t Son-sensei a Pro Hero? He’s so powerful, even more than many of the Pros I’ve seen fight!” 

“Because he isn’t from here, Kendo-san. He’s also only two years older than your class.” 

Kendo’s mouth dropped open at that revelation. ‘How?! He’s easily the best martial artist I’ve ever seen!’ 

Gohan waved her and Kan over to the group, the young man walking to his original place in front of the group. He sat cross-legged, motioning for the students near him to do the same. “Everyone, gather around.” The students dragged themselves into a semicircle surrounding Gohan, sitting in the grass with moans and grumbles of pain. “So Neito-san, Togaru-san, did I quell your fears I am not qualified to teach you unarmed combat?”

Togaru grunted and nodded, his eyes never leaving Gohan. Monoma, still laying on the ground, raised an arm to give a thumbs up. “Yes, sir,” the blonde said.

“Good. Now, a little about me. I am seventeen years old, homeschooled, and I will take the Provisional License Exam next week. Like I said earlier, I specialize in unarmed combat and energy manipulation. While you are with me, I will teach you how to fight both with and without your Quirks. I will also teach you mediation as a part of that training. Questions?” A sea of hands raised. Gohan blinked and picked the orange-haired girl. “Yes, Kendo-san?”

“Sir, how long have you been practicing martial arts and what style do you practice?”

“I have been a fighter for around thirteen years, I began my training when I was four. As for my style, I created my personal style based on the styles of my mentors. I call it the Raging Demon Turtle Style.” The class, including Kan, gave him incredulous looks at his admission that he had been training since he was four. Kendo had stars in her eyes, admiration shining out that someone so powerful was using her beloved martial arts. 

Gohan answered the rest of the questions, most of them fairly tame. Finally, Monoma sat up and looked at him. 

“What’s your Quirk?” Everyone stopped and leaned in, curious as to the answer. 

“I use ki, the physical energy in every living thing. It reinforces my muscles, bones, and ligaments and boosts my strength to a high level. I also use energy attacks formed from ki, such as this.” Gohan formed a small yellow ball of ki over his hand, willing it to travel in a circle around the heads of the class. “While it looks harmless, it is highly destructive.” He pulled the ball back to his hand, tossing it over his shoulder to land on a large boulder protruding from the field a dozen yards away. The boulder exploded in a flash of light, the shock wave blowing back the hair of everyone in the class. 

The students were wide-eyed, staring at the casual display of destruction. 

“Holy shit…” As one, the class swiveled their heads to look at their homeroom teacher. Vlad blinked and noticed them looking at him, blushing in embarrassment. Gohan laughed, causing a cascade of laughter from the students surrounding him. 

“All right, now that Vlad-sensei has expressed his opinion, let’s get down to work. Everyone, I want you to spread out and get into the Lotus posed. If you don’t know what that pose is, it’s how I’m sitting.” The class, still chuckling, spread out on the grass and got into the requested pose. “All right, the first thing we will be meditating.” Gohan held up a hand to forestall the moaning. “I know meditation is a little boring, but it is important. All of you have powerful and potentially dangerous Quirks, therefore you have to emphasize control. Meditation will help you with that control by centering your minds. I want everyone to close their eyes and focus solely on your breathing.” 

The young half-Saiyan smoothly stood up and walked through the group of students. “Nothing else matters, not the sun on your skin or the breeze ruffling your hair. The only thing that is important is your breathing. The function of your lungs, your diaphragm moving to provide life.” Everyone followed his instructions, breathing quietly. It even focused Kan, even though he remained standing with his eyes on the students. “Now, I want you, without losing focus on your breathing, imagine a flame, just like a candle flame, just in front of your eyes.” Several people nodded, the rest too focused on their breathing to move. “Any stray thoughts that come through your mind, any worries or stress, feed into the flame. Don’t let it grow out of control, just allow it to cleanse your mind.” 

Togaru had something approaching a snarl on his face. ‘This is useless! How is this going to help in a fight?!’ He looked up as a long-fingered hand landed on his shoulder. 

“Togaru, this is only a first step,” Gohan said, a small grin on his face. The Saiyan crouched down to look the bladed student in the eye. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but meditation can help you become a better fighter.” 

Tetsutetsu opened one eye to look at the talking pair and asked how Gohan knew it would help. 

“It might be hard to believe, but I have some mild… rage issues. It’s genetic from my father. His tribe can’t really help but revel in battle and gaining strength, pushing harder and harder to become the best of the best. My father’s tribe are warriors by nature, driven to fight by our intense emotions. But my master taught me to meditate, especially as I became more powerful and my emotional outbursts became more dangerous. Emotions grant power, but if they are uncontrolled, they can be your destruction.” 

Togaru stared into his teacher’s eyes, trying to discern if he was lying to him just to manipulate him. The man was the most calm adult that the blade boy had ever met, even while he was taking apart his class. Could this man really empathize with the desire for battle that burned in his heart? Nothing but honesty and earnestness shined back from Gohan’s ebony eyes. The boy nodded and closed his eyes again, resuming his meditation. 

After a half hour of meditation, Gohan clapped his hands once and whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Great job, everyone! I know meditation can be difficult to get used to, but I would like for each of you to find a time to meditate once a day for at least fifteen minutes. Even if that’s only focusing on the first step where you concentrate on breathing, try. If you’d like to join me, I usually meditate every morning around 6 here on campus before I do my morning exercises. That’s all for today, thank you.” The tall Saiyan bowed slightly to the class and nodded to Kan. 

The Blood Hero clapped his hands. “Line up! We’re going back to the room so you can have your regular classes!” 

Gohan watched Class 1B walk back to the building, a small smile on his face. Who knew that teaching could be fun?

** The Next Day **

Gohan sighed as he stood outside of Class 1A's classroom. He knew that Aizawa was considered one of the best Hero teachers in Japan, if not the world, but he wasn’t a fan of dealing with him. His emphasis on ‘rationality’ wore a little thin after a while. Gohan appreciated rationality, but being a someone who fought to save others was inherently irrational. It called for making people safe by self-sacrifice, something irrational to any normal person's standards. Gohan knocked on the door politely, waiting for Aizawa to answer.

“Come.” Aizawa's voice held it’s typical raspy quality. Gohan pushed open the door, stepping inside to look over his second class of first-years. 

“Good morning, class. You were not at the opening assembly, so you likely have not met me.” A gleam came to his eye as Gohan spotted Midoriya cowering behind a spiky-haired blonde boy, his large green eyes wide and terrified at the sight of the half-Saiyan. “I am Son Gohan. I will be your unarmed combat instructor. Now, get your gym uniforms on and meet me outside at the front lawn in ten minutes.” Midoriya sprinted out of the room, his classmates startled. Gohan raised an eyebrow at the group. “Well, what are you waiting for? You’re down to nine minutes and you will not enjoy the consequences of being late.” The class scrambled after Midoriya, save for a few who walked calmly.

“So what are the consequences,” Aizawa asked after the class was out of earshot. Gohan grinned. 

“A one-on-one spar with me.” 

Aizawa shivered at the thought. His grin got even bigger. “I like it.”

**Midoriya POV**

Midoriya sat quietly in his seat as Aizawa took attendance. He noticed that Aizawa seemed to be waiting for someone, but next was English with Mic-sensei, right? A gentle rapping came from the door, Aizawa looking up at the sound. A creepy grin inched its way across the teacher’s face as he called for the person to come in. A tall figure in a purple gi stepped into the room, a small smile on his face.

Midoriya's eyes became wide, and he slunk down in his seat, trying to hide. Sero leaned over and whispered to him.

“Dude, what's wrong? You look like you’ve seen someone who wants to kill you and it isn’t Bakugo.” 

Midoriya shivered and whispered back.

“He’s a demon.” With that, Midoriya shut up and tried to make himself as unobtrusive as possible, something he had a lot of practice at.

The tall man introduced himself and ordered them to get dressed out and go to the front lawn. Midoriya scrambled to get out of the door as soon as possible, knowing Gohan’s punishments for being late. His classmates eventually made it to the dressing room with him, giving the greenette curious looks.

“Midoriya, you appear to know this new teacher,” Iida stated. “How, if I may ask, do you know him?” 

Midoriya didn’t pause in his dressing, having already gotten his undershirt on. “He helped me train for the Entrance Exams.” 

The boys all turned to star at Midoriya.

“He trained you? Who is he?” Iida asked, curious. “I’ve never seen him in any of the pro-hero events.” 

Midoriya shuddered. “He isn’t a Pro yet. The man who was training with me recommended him to help train my hand-to-hand abilities. He’s a monster.” Midoriya finished getting dressed and rushed out of the room, shouting back that they only had five minutes left to get outside. 

**Gohan POV**

Gohan stood on the front lawn, arms crossed with a neutral expression. He watched as the class slowly came out to the front lawn. They just barely made it in the allotted time, save for two students. Gohan held up a hand for silence, watching the doors for the final two members of the class to make it outside. An angry black-haired girl, red-faced and with a furious expression, stomped out of the doors, dragging a smaller boy with purple balls on his head. Aizawa stepped forward, his expression blank even as his body language signaled otherwise. 

“Yaoyorozu, what happened?” 

The girl shuddered, her expression shifting from anger to embarrassment and shame as she dropped the boy and stepped away from him. “Mineta-san apparently hid in one of the unoccupied lockers in the girl’s changing room. I was the last girl to leave the locker room and heard him open the locker to leave.” The raven-haired girl wrapped her arms around herself. “He had his phone out and _was pulling up his pants when he opened the locker!_.” 

The boy scrambled to his feet and tried to protest his innocence, even as he tried to keep his pants from falling down. Aizawa gave him a ruby-eyed glower, which only scared the boy for a moment. From the group of students, there were several shouts of anger and sounds from Quirks activating. He opened his mouth to protest again when a massive weight slammed into him. 

Gohan strode forward, his eyes seeming to flicker between their normal black and a strange teal color as they locked on the short teen. The entire class held their breath as he passed, afraid to draw even an iota of his attention. 

Mineta couldn’t move, he couldn’t even think of moving as Gohan moved towards him with a predator’s grace. The purple ball boy felt like he was prey, watching an apex predator stalking towards him. 

As Gohan got within a few steps of Mineta, the boy fainted, collapsing on the ground. Gohan grimaced at the wet spot staining the outside of Mineta's gym pants. 

“Aizawa-sensei, please take this… sex offender to Nezu-kouchou. If he stays here, I may hurt him.” 

Aizawa wrapped the boy up in his capture scarf and dragged him away, Gohan taking a deep breath, calming breath. 

“Alright, class, after that, I think we need what we’re about to do.” He turned to face the rest of the class, taking in their confused expressions. “Everyone, sit on the grass in the Lotus position. We will start with the art of meditation.”

A blonde boy physically growled at Gohan, small explosions popping off in his hands. “What the fuck? I thought you said you were our combat instructor, not some meditation shit!” 

The boy launched himself at Gohan, leading with a massively telegraphed right hook and minor explosions crackling in his left hand. Gohan sighed and stepped into the swing, grabbing the boy by the face, and planted him in the ground headfirst. The young Saiyan looked up at the rest of the class, his dark eyes glinting with unspoken emotion. “Lesson one: If you are going to attack someone stronger than you, have a damn good reason. Your pride isn’t that reason.” The class, as one, nodded with wide eyes. 

Gohan pulled the exploding boy out of the ground and laid him down on the grass before he shifted into the Lotus position. “Sit in the Lotus position, like this.” Slowly, the group settled down on the grass. Gohan walked them through the same exercises that he led 1-B through the day before, emphasizing their breathing and finding their centers. The blonde boy (Bakugo, if Midoriya’s descriptions were accurate) woke up around ten minutes into the exercises, grumbling even as he got into the same position as the rest of the class. 

After a half-hour of meditation, with Gohan walking through the class and gently refocusing those who had wandering minds, Gohan clapped his hands. “Good job, class! Now, who can tell me why I started you with meditation?”

A tall girl with long black hair raised her hand. Gohan nodded to her. “You began us with meditation to help us calm down after the stress of Mineta.” 

Gohan nodded. “That is one reason, yes. After a significant amount of stress, meditation helps to calm your mind and body. Especially when you have a significant power dependent upon your emotional state of mind. Now that we’ve calmed down,” Gohan looked over at the explosive blonde sulking on the edge of the group, “Do you have questions about what sorts of things you’ll be learning with me.” 

Every hand in the room rose and Gohan smiled as he picked on the first person. Since most of the questions were like Class 1B’s, he could answer on autopilot while he compiled his mental list of exercises to run the classes through later in the week. Maybe this teaching stuff really was his thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who like Mineta: meh. He's more over-the-top than his characterization in the anime or manga, but not by much. I don't know how I would write him, so I decided to avoid it. Shinsou will likely appear soon.   
> I hope you enjoy and remember to comment, kudos, and subscribe!


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